Aethelstan stepped without a sound to where the other Saxans were gathered, all of them looking to him expectantly.
“We cannot go farther. Cenferth and I will go forth from here, and be as light of presence and silent as we can,” Aethelstan informed them in a low voice. “Remain here with the steeds, and keep them as quiet as you can. If you are attacked, do not be foolish and forget why we have come here. Seek to get to our forces to warn them. They will need to know what we face. The fate of our army on the Plains of Athelney, and our home villages and burhs, depend on it.”
Aethelstan let his stare weigh heavy on the others, to reinforce the solemnity of his words. He knew that he was asking a very difficult thing of the warriors, who would not hesitate to fight to the last around their beloved leader. Even so, notions of a warrior’s personal honor had to be subordinate to the greater task for which they had all come.
Aethelstan lifted his leather shield strap over his head, grabbing the long, triangular shield and leaning it up against the same tree that his horse was tethered to. Removing his mail shirt to a cascade of light, metallic clinks, he rolled it up slowly, and placed it near the back of his horse’s saddle. He also removed his iron helm, affixing it temporarily by the chinstrap off of the pommel.
The countless hours, days, and years that he had spent traveling and hunting amid the woodlands would now govern the best protection that he could have.
With the others standing guard around the horses, Aethelstan and Cenferth stepped lightly off into the forest. Having hunted often together in the forests of Wessachia, Ealdorman Morcar’s lands, they were very adept at moving without giving off sound. They knew each other’s tendencies well, and could easily convey plans or wishes with a simple glance or gesture.
With nimble footing and close attention to their surroundings, they made excellent progress, until the sporadic sounds of some foliage rustling and the crunching of dry leaves and twigs on the ground reached their ears.
Upon the very first hint of the intrusive sounds that broke the stillness of the forest, Aethelstan was already moving to the side of a particularly large elm tree, and lowering himself down into a crouch. Looking to the side, he saw that Cenferth had done likewise, and they held themselves as still as the high trees around them. Aethelstan gestured just ahead of their position, a little to the left, as Cenferth nodded his agreement with the thane’s assessment.
The noises indicated that something was just about to break into view, just a short distance away from them. The two men watched carefully, their eyes fixed upon the trees and ground before them. Aethelstan drew upon his hunting skills, attenuating himself to a fixed, forward stare that took in the full range of his peripheral vision.
The first signs of movement riveted his focus fully upon the disturbance.
A few great black shapes padded across the ground, less than a hundred feet ahead of where he and Cenferth were hiding. The feline creatures moved effortlessly, bounding lithely over any fallen trees with nary a sound. With each burst of motion, they landed in perfect balance upon their wide paws.
The sounds of rustling leaves and scraping brush came from the movements of their handlers, who walked a short distance behind the massive cat-like beasts. They held onto long tethers, gripping them tightly in the elongated, slender fingers of their left hands. In their right hands, they grasped the hilts of long, tapering daggers, with no crossguards.
Aethelstan and Cenferth looked in wonder at the non-human handlers and the powerful creatures that they tended.
The heads of the bestial handlers were like that of some huge rat, with beady, dark eyes and long, tapering snouts. They had long tails, with arms and legs that were skinny in proportion to their bodies. Wherever their dark, waist-length tunics did not cover them, thick, coarse black fur could be seen.
The large cat-like beasts at the end of the tethers moved without any hindrance from their great body mass. With broad chests, stout legs, and massive heads carried high, the latter prominently displaying wicked-looking canines protruding several inches downward, the creatures exhibited a slight slope from their head to their hindquarters. Their stout bodies seemed to be made of solid muscle, as evidenced by the rippling, pulsing bulges just underneath their lustrous coats of dark fur.
There was a pattern to their movements. After a number of steps, the handlers would come to a sudden halt. Both the rat-men and the beasts would sniff at the air, and look all around them. Aethelstan uttered a silent prayer of thanks that they were downwind of the creatures, for he had little doubt that they would have easily picked up the scent of the two humans had it been otherwise.
Aethelstan and Cenferth dared not let even the sound of a breath escape them, as the terrifying creatures passed disconcertingly close by. Each moment seemed to take an eternity as they were condemned to endure a nerve-fraying state of mind.
The first of the cat-beasts showed no hesitation as they walked right in front of the tree that Aethelstan was hiding behind. As the creature passed, Aethelstan hoped desperately that there were no changes in the wind.
The extended canines descending from their upper jaws were veritable sabers, and the glint off of their powerful, horrifically sharp claws gave more than a hint as to what the monstrous cats were capable of.
Just one of the formidable creatures would be more than a match for both Aethelstan and Cenferth, even with coats of mail on their bodies and shields in hand. No less than four of the beasts passed by slowly, within only a few scant feet of the Saxans. Remaining rigid and frozen, they anxiously suffered their unwanted vigil as the creatures moved beyond them.
The light that reached the forest floor through the small breaks in the tree canopy overhead flickered rapidly, as patches of darkness flitted briskly across the forest floor. Aethelstan looked up slowly, bringing his gaze about just in time to see the signs of a large Harrak-mounted patrol as it passed overhead.
The sky patrol’s presence did not worry him. Underneath the trees, pressed close to the trunks, there was little chance of Aethelstan and Cenferth being seen from above.
It still did not lessen the heightened tension that both of them were feeling, with impending threats of discovery both in the air and upon the ground. Aethelstan chanced a glance toward Cenferth, and could see the fear shining in the other’s eyes. Discovery at the moment meant assured death.
There was little that the two Saxans could do, other than to endure. Aethelstan took long, slow breaths to offset the constriction he felt, as he watched the rat-men guide the cat-like beasts onward, until they finally disappeared among the trees towards the south. Cenferth and Aethelstan sustained their composure and posture, despite the visual absence of their enemies. The thane was simply glad that the rapid beating of their hearts could not disrupt the deathly silence all around them.
At the same time, Aethelstan knew that they had made their own confirmation. The foreign creatures moving about the woods in a patrol-like formation, shadowed by the sky patrol above, left no doubts in Aethelstan’s mind regarding Saxany’s enemy.
After several more nerve-wracking minutes, Aethelstan finally gave Cenferth the signal to begin their retreat. He knew that they would need to move very cautiously away from their hiding spots, while keeping their attention focused on the areas where the enemy creatures had been sighted.
They had to be ready to fall to the ground at the slightest hint of motion or rustling of the underbrush. The scouts and cat-beasts could double back, without giving any significant warning, and could well catch the two Saxans stranded out in the open.
Aethelstan nodded towards Cenferth, and both men slowly began to rise up from their low crouches. Suddenly, Aethelstan froze, as he heard a light disturbance off to their right.