Peter Tremayne - The Leper's bell

‘But it would still take some time for the infusion to work on Uaman,’ Basil Nestorios pointed out again. Then he paused and said reluctantly, ‘I could increase the dose. On reflection, the sooner we take our departure the better.’ Then he sighed in irritation. ‘But when the guard comes to fetch me for the treatment, you will be found here.’

Eadulf shook his head and pointed to the tunnel.

‘I will slip into there and you will push the stone slab before it, not blocking it off, but allowing me hang on with my hands, for my legs will be over the edge dangling into the next cell. As the bed covers your tunnel, with luck the guard will not notice that the slab is not quite in place.’

Basil Nestorios was looking thoughtful.

‘It might work. But even so, if we can deal with one guard, when we escape then there are still five others.’

‘Let us deal with one thing at a time,’ replied Eadulf. ‘How do you propose to render Uaman unconscious? Do you have any gafann? ’

The physician looked puzzled as Eadulf, momentarily, could only think of the word used by the people of the five kingdoms.

‘Henbane,’ he said, trying to think of the Latin word. ‘ Mandragora ’ he added, knowing that the plant was related to the mandrake. ‘That is what I would use. In infusions it yields a potion which, if given in undiluted form, will cause a loss of speech and physical paralysis.’

Basil Nestorios smiled agreement.

‘You have some knowledge, my friend. Left with no alternative, I would say that it is a good choice. Yet I have, among my medicines, a distillation of a plant that grows in parts of my country which is called papaver and which will be far stronger and quicker in its effect. It is a white poppy that we use at Jundi-Shapur which is a powerful narcotic and sometimes relieves pain, sometimes stimulates the mind. But it can also be dangerous in large doses.’

‘A white poppy?’ Eadulf frowned. It was a new plant in his experience.

‘We make an incision in the seed head that ripens once the plant has flowered. The cuts secrete a thick juice, which we scrape off and leave to dry. From this we take our medicinal potion. It will dull the Evil One’s brain and induce a deep sleep. That I am prepared to do, but I will inflict on him no more than sleep.’

Eadulf shrugged. ‘Well, sleep is better than nothing. If he is not able to order and co-ordinate his warriors, perhaps we have a chance. Are you sure there are no more than six guards in this fortress?’

‘I am sure. I have seen only six men who look after the Evil One.’

Eadulf glanced round. ‘So where is your chest of medicines?’

‘The Evil One looks after it. He does not trust me. He keeps the chest in the chamber where I treat him.’

Eadulf glanced through the window to judge the sky and the tide.

‘We had better get prepared, Basil Nestorios,’ he said.

The physician nodded. ‘Let us hope we are not beloved of the gods,’ he muttered.

Eadulf glanced at him curiously.

The physician replied with a smile. ‘In my land we have a saying — hon hoi theoi philousi npothneskei neos — those whom the gods love, die young.’

Eadulf grinned as he prepared to crawl back under the bed.

‘Let us hope that we are considered to be well past our youth, then,’ he replied before pushing himself backwards into the hole.

The physician waited a few moments to allow him to settle himself and then pushed the stone block before the entrance, using his hands to sweep away the rubble. He then sat on the edge of the bed facing the door.

‘Are you all right, my friend?’ he whispered.

‘My arms are beginning to ache,’ Eadulf replied. ‘A pity this space is at such an acute angle. If it was level, then perhaps I would not need to put my weight on my hands.’

‘Let us hope the guard comes soon.’

‘Sssh … I think…’

Eadulf could hear bolts being drawn back. Metal rasped on metal as the door swung inwards. A voice called: ‘Come!’ He heard Basil Nestorios standing up and moving to the door. A moment or two later he heard the door bang closed and the bolts being pushed back.

Eadulf waited a short time before he began to haul himself from the hole, pushing at the stone block, which, fortunately, was not heavy. It was but a few moments before he was crawling under the bed and back into the cell again. His first thought was to try the door. As he expected, it had been secured from the outside. He had wondered whether, if the door had been left open, he might have found an opportunity to ambush the guard from the outside rather than wait inside the cell.

Now there was nothing to do but wait.

Eadulf was dozing. He had almost fallen asleep when a noise startled him into wakefulness. There was a movement outside the door. He sprang up, back against the wall, behind the door. He glanced to where the stone lay. It should be well visible from the doorway. Then he heard the bolts being drawn back. He wished he had a weapon of some sort, but there was nothing to hand.

The door swung inward. A guttural voice said: ‘In you go. You will get your food later.’

Eadulf waited for the warrior to come forward into the cell. Was he blind? Why didn’t he see the stone? He heard Basil Nestorios begin talking in voluble Greek.

‘Silence!’ grunted the guard. ‘I don’t understand your heathen gibberish, and…’

The voice fell quiet. It seemed that Basil Nestorios was pointing to the stone in an attempt to make the warrior move forward into the cell. It finally worked. Eadulf heard a gasp and then the bulk of the warrior was inside the cell, beyond the door. Eadulf was on the man like a cat springing on its prey, his hands fastening round the warrior’s neck, clenching tight. The man was muscular and large; his big hands came up to tear at Eadulf’s grip. He swung this way and that as Eadulf clung on in desperation, refusing to let go and trying to constrict the man’s breath.

It seemed hopeless. The man was strong and struggled violently to dislodge Eadulf. Just when Eadulf was almost giving up, the man suddenly relaxed and crumpled to the floor. Eadulf went down with him and remained with tightened grip until he was sure the warrior was not faking. He kept a tight hold on the man’s neck for a few seconds more, then suddenly released his hold and sprang for the door, where Basil Nestorios stood. He slammed it shut and shot the bolts before the guard could stir. He leant against the door, panting for breath. A few minutes passed and then he looked at the physician.

‘How did it go with Uaman?’ he whispered urgently.

‘I am not sure,’ replied the man. ‘I mixed the potion and told the Evil One it was a new part of the treatment which he must drink. If he does, I would say it should be working already.’

Eadulf looked aghast. ‘You mean that you didn’t wait to ensure that he drank the mixture?’

Basil Nestorios shook his head. ‘The Evil One simply told the guard to take me back to the cell. I left the potion by his side in his chamber.’

Eadulf groaned softly. ‘Then we cannot rely on Uaman’s being incapacitated. We must get away from here immediately.’

‘But my medicine chest, my saddle bags … they are still in his chamber.’

Eadulf snorted in annoyance.

‘Abandon them for the time being. I am not going to waste time going to Uaman’s chamber to see if he is asleep in order to retrieve them. They’ll slow us down anyway.’

Basil Nestorios looked as if he would argue, but then he realised the logic of what Eadulf was saying.

‘Where how, then, Saxon friend?’

Eadulf looked about. He realised that the corridor they were in, like the others he had seen, ran around the outer wall in a circular fashion. There must be another level above this one where the windows were. He estimated, therefore, that they were on ground level.