Wolfbane (Historical Fiction Action Adventure Book, set in Dark Age post Roman Britain) Read Free Page A

moment. Again, the splashing, and Dominic’s senses prickled. After walking knee-deep into the water, he nocked an arrow into his bowstring and peered into the darkness. The scene became clearer as smoky shifting clouds blew clear of the moon. A group of deft shadows were visible on the far banking of the river.
    His bowstring sang as he sent an arrow at the smallest of the shapes. The fawn fell, quickly killed, as the others swiftly faded into the deeper shadow of the wood. He ran splashing through the water and skilfully and quickly butchered the fawn where it lay. He returned across the river to his overnight camp; his immediate need for sustenance now taken care of.
    When morning came, the woods across the river appeared unvisited. He cooked and breakfasted on a portion of the deer. What remained, he left for the scavengers of the forest; happy that they would benefit from his kill. After staring long and hard across the river, he gathered his possessions and continued on his way.
    Another two days passed without event.
     
    He smelled the marshes half a day before he came to them. Littered now with huge boulders, his route proved more troublesome than before, and soon Dominic was soaking, both from the perspiration of his efforts and from the humidity that seemed to increase the nearer he got to the swampland.
    The evening was casting a dusky pink glow when he at last got his first sighting of the marshes. Astounded, Dominic realised, not for the first time in his life, why he had chosen the existence of a wanderer. Before him was a vast, grey-pink expanse of shallow water. Stretching as far as his eye could see, dragonflies skimmed its surface, while toads and coots croaked and screeched their songs into the gloaming. An enormous oasis within the confines of the gloomy forest, it offered light and openness. Yet Alder trees had still managed to puncture it, and these reared from the marsh at intervals, stretching fa r into the distance.
    He decided to rest at the marsh edge that night, not wishing to chance a passage through the moonlight. He knew he needed be extra vigilant yet he could not help feeling enchanted with his surroundings. Eventually, though, he fell into a light slumber as he succumbed to the toils of the day.
    He woke early; his brief disorientation causing him to jump with sword in hand. His head swam as he again took in the swamp, this time cool and misty as the day awakened.
    He picked out a likely route and began to splash knee-deep through chilly water, keeping well away from the many swirling currents that warned of deep turbulence. Complicated but unconstrained, his passage proved benign due to low water after a dry summer. Whilst sapping his energy, the many dead trees he clambered over also served him as resting platforms proud of the water.
    It was mid-afternoon when he saw a thicker bank of trees ahead. They were not water-loving alders, so he knew the marshes were ending. He soon reached dry ground and continued as in the valley by walking alongside the river. Huge-girthed oaks, swathed with deeply etched and gnarled bark, now crowded in around him.
    He moved slowly, his eyes straining to see into the gloom. Woodland noises occasionally caused him to stop and squint into the green murkiness beside the river. Soon, he came to an area where the trees grew sparsely. Here, the light flooded in to reveal the track and the ruin he had travelled days to find. Looking up and down, he was satisfied that nothing stirred. He now realised he had gained his present position the hard way by approaching from the broken, marshy land to the south. He examined the ground and saw no human trace upon it. Turning his attention to the ruin, he noticed that its walls seemed to be overgrown, craggy, continuations of the forest floor.
    The Romans had long abandoned the building but its basic construction was still intact. The main structure of the storehouse was above ground and built to house two guards. Not such a