Envinyatar's post
Aldwulf unfolded the blankets he had brought with him, and, clearing a space in the piled up hay, laid one down on the bed of the wagon. He motioned for Heldór to lie down on the blanket, then he and Rochil spread the other over him and piled the loose hay on top of his reclining form, hiding him well.
‘Free the ropes from the bars, Rochil,’ he whispered to the other man, as he crouched down by the barred window frame as it lay on the ground. ‘Never know when we might need them again. And to be honest, I’d like to leave as little evidence behind as possible.’
Having said that, he coiled the now untied ropes and stowed them in the back of the wagon. Taking out a straw broom he had brought just for this purpose, he had Rochil lead the wagon a little way down the graveled path along with his horse; then carefully swept back and forth across the dirt, removing the impints of their boots and those of the horses and the wagon’s wheels.
Aldwulf climbed aboard and had Rochil sit beside him. He clucked to the pair of greys and they plodded slowly down the path to the gate. The horses of the two were tied behind the wagon and followed along, ambling close to the wagon’s bed every so often to much on the hay that hung from it.
At the gate, the two young guards were well into their cups. They hadn’t moved from the seated position he had last seen them in, and the two skins of ale were now quite empty and flat as they lay on the ground between the two. They waved weakly at the wagon as it approached, and called out a garbled greeting. Their eyes, quite red and bleary, could not seem to focus on the occupants of the wagon. And it was far too much an effort to stand and see if there were anything of import in it.
‘Yer business done?’ one of them yelled up to him. Aldwulf shook his head yes, and reached behind the seat as they came abreast of the pair. ‘Don’t need this tonight, I’m headin’ home. You two work on it. I wouldn’t want it to go to waste.’ He handed down the third skin of ale into their eager hands. Aldwulf yawned widely for their benefit and waved at them as the wagon passed through the gate.
The wagon moved slowly through the city proper, looking very much like some tired farmers heading home after a night spent carousing. Once beyond the great gates of the city, they turned northwest, toward the Westfold and beyond it - the Gap.
At some point Liol and Brytta would meet up with them, bringing a mount for Heldór. The wagon would then be left behind, the greys set free to roam. Until then, they kept on their slow steady course away from the city.
[ July 20, 2003: Message edited by: piosenniel ]
|