Peter Tremayne - Badger's Moon

‘At the Thicket of Pigs?’

Conrí nodded morosely. ‘You see, when our prince, Torcán, was killed fighting your brother at Cnoc Áine, we not only lost a lot of our youth but were forced to pay reparation for our rebellion both to Cashel and to the High King. It impoverished us.’

‘How would the finding of gold in this land, where lawful Eóghanacht rule continues, have anything to do with you?’

Conrí grimaced wryly. ‘Dea had an idea. But the first thing to do was to check whether the information was true or not. The captain said that he had picked up the information while his ship was in the port of the house of Molaga. A man who was trying to find ships to transport the gold approached him. He heard that the gold was found near a place called the Thicket of Pigs. The captain knew that there was a hunter called Menma who lived in that area and knew it well. The captain had an idea to return to the shores of the territory of the Cinél na Áeda and seek out Menma who must surely be able to identify the discovery. When he was dying, the captain simply passed the information on to Dea.’

Fidelma was silent for a moment and then she said, ‘However, I repeat my question. Even if gold were found here, what use would it be to the Uí Fidgente?’

Conrí looked uncomfortable. ‘As I said, we are improverished by the defeats inflicted on us.’

‘They were just defeats against a rebellious people,’ Fidelma reminded him.

‘One may interpret our rebellion. But, anyway, it is true that we were defeated and impoverished. The captain had said the discovery of gold was still a close secret, known only to a couple of people and not even the chieftain of the Cinél na Áeda knew it. Dea’s idea was that before the news was widely known, a powerful Uí Fidgente raid could carry off a sufficient quantity of gold to restore some power to our people.’ He paused and then added, ‘I swear that I knew nothing of this until the day Dea asked me to allow him and his men to go foraging. I would not dissuade him for I am not traitor to my own.’

Fidelma gazed into his features for a moment or two. ‘Curiously, I am inclined to believe you. It is too bizarre a tale not to be the truth.’

‘But then Dea and his men did not return and my scouts found their bodies. Surely, whatever the intention was, they should have been allowed time to surrender? They did not deserve to be slaughtered like animals, shot in the back with arrows, or cut down from behind. This is what has angered my warriors and me. I am determined to see reparation.’

‘Conrí, you have told me your truth. For that I am grateful. I cannot accept any legal basis why your men should be compensated for they were found having burnt down an innocent person’s home, abducted his wife and slaughtered his animals. Furthermore, their intention was theft. This Dea came to you and proposed no more than theft…’

‘Dea was my brother,’ Conrí replied in a hollow voice. ‘That is why I cannot let this matter rest.’

‘For that, I am sorry for you. But I represent the law not the spirit of vengeance. Let me make a proposal to you…’

Conrí looked at her with suspicion. ‘I cannot return to my brother’s wife and children without telling them that his death has been avenged.’

‘I said that I do not represent the spirit of vengeance. However, you might be able to return to them and say that justice still prevails, for I know that your brother and his men were not given the opportunity to surrender.’

‘Then what is your proposal?’

‘Simply this. Stay encamped here, attacking no one, harming no one, and tomorrow I shall summon you and two others of your band that you care to nominate to attend the chieftain’s hall at Rath Raithlen. You will be there under my personal guarantee of protection. There I shall reveal all the truths behind what has been happening in this troubled land. You will know the truth behind the deaths of your brother and his men and who was responsible. There is no need to wreak vengeance on the entire people just for the sin of a few.’

Conrí sat in silence for a while and then he shrugged. ‘I am a reasonable man, Fidelma of Cashel. I know the Eóghanacht think all Uí Fidgente are mindless monsters, seeking only blood and booty. It is not so. We are an independent people, a proud people, bowing to nobody and accepting nobody as our lord. That brings us into conflict on many occasions. But we are, above all, just and fair-minded. I have heard what you have said. You, too, are just and reasonable. I will answer your summons to Rath Raithlen. My men are all warriors and like hounds that are straining at the leash to be among those that killed their kindred, so assure the Cinél na Áeda that if they try to trick us, their punishment will be that much harsher and bloody.’

Fidelma rose slowly and reached out a hand. ‘I hear you, Conrí.’

The warlord rose and took her hand. They shook silently.

‘We have made a good start, Fidelma of Cashel,’ the man said as they emerged from the tent to face the waiting men. Eadulf and Adag stood with worried expressions on their faces while the Uí Fidgente were sulky and suspicious.

‘Then let us hope the finish is good also.’ Fidelma smiled.

On the way back to Rath Raithlen both Eadulf and Adag pressed her to reveal what had passed in Conrí’s tent. All she would do was smile gently and say: ‘The sun does not shine without shadows being cast.’

At Rath Raithlen Fidelma consulted with Becc and made her plans for a hearing to be arranged for the next day at the noon hour.

That evening, before the meal, she realised that she had one more person to question and slipped out of Becc’s guest hostel without consulting Eadulf. She made her way straight to Gobnuid’s forge and found the surly smith still bent over his anvil.

‘Well, Gobnuid, you are working late this night.’

The smith glanced up with a growl, but whether of annoyance or merely a greeting it was hard to discern.

‘Did you deliver your hides safely?’ Fidelma smiled.

The smith glared at her. There seemed to be some concern on his features.

‘Why do you ask me that?’ he demanded.

‘Because you returned early from your trip. You could not have reached the Bandan river and returned so soon.’ She perched herself on a small wooden stool that stood near the forge furnace and stretched comfortably in the heat.

Gobnuid scowled. ‘If you must know, the wheel of my wagon broke and I had to do a makeshift repair and leave it with a friend for safety while I returned here to get a replacement.’ He gestured to a wheel in the corner of his forge.

‘It is taking you some time to return to your wagon,’ observed Fidelma.

‘You know full well that the Uí Fidgente raided and everyone was needed. Now I am told by the tanist that I am required to attend this meeting you have called in the Great Hall tomorrow. My business will wait until afterwards.’

‘Do you often work for the tanist?’

The smith’s brows drew together. ‘What makes you ask that?’

‘You mentioned you were transporting the hides for Accobrán. How often do you do that?’

Gobnuid stood uncertainly. ‘Well, I do jobs for him when I have time. Is there something wrong with that?’

Fidelma smiled sweetly at his defensive tone. ‘Not at all. It is just that transporting hides is not that rewarding for a talented craftsman.’

‘I often shoe his horse and now and then sharpen his weapons,’ replied Gobnuid.

‘The tanist seems to do a fair and regular trade in hides. I wonder where he gets the hides from in the first place?’

‘The question is best put to him. I suppose he buys them from farmers hereabout. It saves them having to do the business themselves.’