under my fingers as I gripped her shift.
As quickly as it had approached, the roaring sound slowly began to fade. Having come from our right where we lay it now moved away to our left, back the way we had come. We still dared not move. Eluned’s breathing at last slowed. She lifted the edge of the blanket. Where the road lay was a cloud of dust, slowly settling. Eluned removed the blanket completely. As the sound continued to diminish she eventually pushed herself up on to her knees, brushing earth and grass seeds from the front of her shift. As she did so, I released my hold, rolled over and sat up.
The cloud of dust had almost gone by now, and as the sound dwindled into the distance all that was visible was a smaller and smaller cloud. Before long the silence returned. Eluned rolled the blanket once more, stood up and hitched up her bag with the blankets. She held out her hand to me.
“We must move on, quickly, my lady. They will be back.”
“Who are they?”
“Crwydwyr. Vagabondi. Wanderers. Men who harbour evil in their hearts. I fear they know you are on the road.”
“But what was that they were travelling in?”
“I have heard it said they travel in machines with an engine. I had not wanted to believe such things existed. Now I know.”
“But engines don’t make that much noise, Eluned. The engines that existed in my world were silent. They ran on electricity.”
“The engines of the vagabondi use some sort of liquid. They found it in places that existed in the old times and worked out how to use it. I know no more, but now I know they exist I must believe that they are as dangerous as the old ones told me.”
“They are not of my world, then?”
“Maybe once. But they broke free in the early days. Now they live in the forests, feeding on wild animals and plants. On any poor creature they find, it is said.”
“Creatures like us?”
“Creatures like us, my lady. Somehow they know when some one travels the old roads. This the high servants warned me. We must hurry. We have to reach the dyke before night falls. We cannot let the crwydwyr find us.”
She set off once more. I followed quickly behind her, my hunger and thirst forgotten.
Chapter 6
By the time we reached the tree line, we were nearing exhaustion. Although it had not seemed that far away while we awaited the arrival of the vagabondi, it was much further on foot, as we were. Stepping out of the open, I fell against the first tree. Eluned followed. For minutes we leaned against the tree and each other, our breath coming in short, gasping bursts.
“How much further?” I managed.
“When the trees are finished, we should see the dyke. I do not know how long it will be before the trees are finished. We must go, my lady.”
“Two more minutes, Eluned.”
“We cannot stop, my lady. The crwydwyr are surely seeking us. They will have reached the place where we slept. They will have seen that we have passed through. They will return. With their engine they will soon be upon us.”
“So your idea is to carry on. Into this forest that clearly gets deeper. They will be upon us before we see them in here. Why don’t we run off to the side and hide, as we did before?”
“They will surely wait for us at the Dyke, my lady. All will be lost.”
“What if I use the skills that the Teacher taught me? Confront them. He told me never to avoid a task. Isn’t that what we are doing now?”
“Your skills are in protecting your own life, my lady. Not in fighting others. We cannot defend ourselves. You do not know what these crwydwyr are capable of doing to us. Two women. Alone on the road.”
She was right, but I still believed that I had learned some of the skills of a warrior. How I could put them into practice was another matter. The Teacher had not given me any weapons for this journey, though I had learned how to use the bow and the axe.
Eluned smiled at me. “The dyke will be our sanctuary from these men.
As quickly as it had approached, the roaring sound slowly began to fade. Having come from our right where we lay it now moved away to our left, back the way we had come. We still dared not move. Eluned’s breathing at last slowed. She lifted the edge of the blanket. Where the road lay was a cloud of dust, slowly settling. Eluned removed the blanket completely. As the sound continued to diminish she eventually pushed herself up on to her knees, brushing earth and grass seeds from the front of her shift. As she did so, I released my hold, rolled over and sat up.
The cloud of dust had almost gone by now, and as the sound dwindled into the distance all that was visible was a smaller and smaller cloud. Before long the silence returned. Eluned rolled the blanket once more, stood up and hitched up her bag with the blankets. She held out her hand to me.
“We must move on, quickly, my lady. They will be back.”
“Who are they?”
“Crwydwyr. Vagabondi. Wanderers. Men who harbour evil in their hearts. I fear they know you are on the road.”
“But what was that they were travelling in?”
“I have heard it said they travel in machines with an engine. I had not wanted to believe such things existed. Now I know.”
“But engines don’t make that much noise, Eluned. The engines that existed in my world were silent. They ran on electricity.”
“The engines of the vagabondi use some sort of liquid. They found it in places that existed in the old times and worked out how to use it. I know no more, but now I know they exist I must believe that they are as dangerous as the old ones told me.”
“They are not of my world, then?”
“Maybe once. But they broke free in the early days. Now they live in the forests, feeding on wild animals and plants. On any poor creature they find, it is said.”
“Creatures like us?”
“Creatures like us, my lady. Somehow they know when some one travels the old roads. This the high servants warned me. We must hurry. We have to reach the dyke before night falls. We cannot let the crwydwyr find us.”
She set off once more. I followed quickly behind her, my hunger and thirst forgotten.
Chapter 6
By the time we reached the tree line, we were nearing exhaustion. Although it had not seemed that far away while we awaited the arrival of the vagabondi, it was much further on foot, as we were. Stepping out of the open, I fell against the first tree. Eluned followed. For minutes we leaned against the tree and each other, our breath coming in short, gasping bursts.
“How much further?” I managed.
“When the trees are finished, we should see the dyke. I do not know how long it will be before the trees are finished. We must go, my lady.”
“Two more minutes, Eluned.”
“We cannot stop, my lady. The crwydwyr are surely seeking us. They will have reached the place where we slept. They will have seen that we have passed through. They will return. With their engine they will soon be upon us.”
“So your idea is to carry on. Into this forest that clearly gets deeper. They will be upon us before we see them in here. Why don’t we run off to the side and hide, as we did before?”
“They will surely wait for us at the Dyke, my lady. All will be lost.”
“What if I use the skills that the Teacher taught me? Confront them. He told me never to avoid a task. Isn’t that what we are doing now?”
“Your skills are in protecting your own life, my lady. Not in fighting others. We cannot defend ourselves. You do not know what these crwydwyr are capable of doing to us. Two women. Alone on the road.”
She was right, but I still believed that I had learned some of the skills of a warrior. How I could put them into practice was another matter. The Teacher had not given me any weapons for this journey, though I had learned how to use the bow and the axe.
Eluned smiled at me. “The dyke will be our sanctuary from these men.
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