‘Irél!’ called Fidelma as the young man halted his mount before them.
The commander of the Fianna was smiling at her. ‘Fidelma! Is all well with you, lady?’
He swung down and Fidelma moved forward to greet him.
‘It is a long story. How came you here?’
‘Soon after you had departed from Tara, Cenn Faelad became worried, having heard tales of the raiders. He asked me to follow with a companyof my men. We were resting at the church on the thorn island not a great distance away, when a merchant rode by and he told us that he had seen an abbey burning to the north-west. From what he said, I believed it to be Baile Fobhair.’
‘It was,’ confirmed Fidelma.
‘Well, we set off straight away. Delbna Mór lies on our route. Then we met a young rider from here who said the abbey was expecting to be attacked.’
‘The abbey at Baile Fobhair is burned and everyone slain,’ Fidelma said sadly. ‘And, indeed, we were expecting an attack here. But I think things are altered — and you may have arrived at an opportune moment.’
Irél looked at her in bafflement. ‘I do not follow.’
‘As I said, it is a story that is long in the telling. First, you may tell your men to dismount and rest. I have some twenty warriors led by Ardgal here with me. They took up positions thinking you were raiders.’
With Irél issuing orders to his men, Fidelma turned and called Ardgal to come forward and as soon as all were settled, she told lrél the story.
Irél turned to Ardgal. ‘And your scouts actually saw this encampment on the Hill of the Hag?’
The chieftain nodded. ‘They are men who know the country well. There is a camp there which they estimate contains about one hundred and fifty warriors, no more than two hundred. They have women with them but there seems no sign of children.’
‘But they were unable to locate Brother Eadulf?’
Ardgal gave a negative gesture with his hand.
Irél sighed. ‘It is one of the best defensive places in the area. I explored it once a few years ago. It will be a hard place to make a surprise attack on.’
‘With conventional methods, yes,’ Fidelma commented.
Irél frowned. ‘You have an idea, lady?’
‘I was about to explain it to Ardgal’s men when you arrived.’
‘That is true.’ Ardgal smiled briefly. ‘We were going to put the idea to a vote. You said something about it being a job for hunters, not warriors.’
‘That is true. The element of surprise rests on our enemies’ sentinels being stalked and silenced as a hunter will stalk game in the forest — silently, quickly, and striking without mercy.’
‘Do you realise what you are saying, lady?’ Irél stared at Fidelma. ‘You are a woman, a woman of the religious but you are suggesting … ’
‘The women of the Eóghanacht were warriors from the dawn of time,’ Fidelma replied sharply. ‘My namesake Fidelma Noíchrothach, Fidelma the Nine Times Beautiful, was such a warrior champion. Indeed, aren’t you forgetting that Creidne was female champion of the Fianna? Come, let us have no more comments arising from male ego. Let us address ourselves to how we may resolve the problem as efficiently as possible.’
‘And that is?’ demanded Ardgal, amused at the crestfallen features of the illustrious commander of the Fianna.
‘Your men must approach the Hag’s Hill in the manner of hunters. The attack must take place in the last moments of darkness before dawn. It is the time when most people are in a deep sleep and do not react so quickly. The attackers must rely on their long bows as if they are hunting game. Long bows and knives. They must pick off the sentinels, silently and accurately, one by one, as they find a path up to the hill. Now we have the Fianna to back us. So once that path is made, the Fianna will come silently up the hill; once on the hilltop they will have the eastern light to help them and may attack openly. As they do so, I with Caol and Gormán will attempt to discover where Eadulf is held and release him.’
‘It sounds a simple plan in the telling,’ muttered Irél begrudingly.
‘It should be simple in the execution.’
Ardgal was thoughtful. ‘I will put it to my men. I think it is a plan that will appeal to them. Our people are hunters and farmers and not warriors. The prospect of overturning warriors with hunters’ bows will amuse them.’
Irél snorted disdainfully. ‘It is not exactly an honourable way of battle.’ ‘Is any battle honourable?’ snapped Fidelma.
‘The plan has its merits,’ admitted Irél, flushing. ‘As such, I accept it. I do not have to put it to my men, for we are of the Fianna.’
Fidelma repressed a smile at the arrogance of his tone.
‘Excellent. If all is well, we will depart from here as soon as possible.’
Eadulf had finally fallen asleep. He had spent hours walking around the inside of their prison while Bishop Luachan lay snoring. It was true what the old man had said. There was only one way into this strange mausoleum and one way out of it. And as there was only room for one man crawling out at a time, there was no hope at all of surprising the two warriors who stood sentinel outside, let alone making an escape, even if the wicker gate was not in the way.
He had sat down and started turning over various plans in his mind, but had to discard each one before he had advanced far into it. It was while he was doing so that he had finally fallen into a sleep of troubled exhaustion.
It was dark and the chill of early morning made Fidelma feel cold and uncomfortable. She was thankful for the knowledge of Ardgal’s men, for it appeared that Sliabh na Callaigh encompassed a row of several hills running east to west. Ardgal had told her that the extreme western peak and its close neighbour, the highest peak of all, were where the ancient pagan buildings were situated. His trackers believed that it was around this highest hill that the dibergach camp was to be found.
They had approached from the south towards the western side, passing a small lake through woodlands of densely branched trees. They had left their horses tethered in the woods then began to climb upwards. After a short distance, Ardgal had bade her wait with Caol and Gormán while he and his men advanced up the hill to deal with the sentinels. Behind them, the ranks of the Fianna had already halted and stood ready to make their ascent when instructed.
They waited in total silence.
It seemed strange. No sound came to them through the night air, and Fidelma was wondering if her plan was working at all when there came a rustle among the undergrowth and almost before they had time to react, one of Ardgal’s men appeared in the shadows.
‘We have dealt with all the sentinels on this side, lady,’ he whispered. ‘The Fianna can move up, but as quietly as possible.’
Irél was already motioning his men forward. Like a silent stream they ascended the hill with Fidelma, Caol and Gormán trailing in their wake.
They paused to regroup at the tree-line that gave access onto the bald peak. Fidelma could see the outline of stone buildings, of campfires, tents and some wooden structures. Then the Fianna were racing forwards; the timing was perfect. The sun was still below the eastern hills, but a thin shaft of light was creeping over the hill. The Fianna were on the sleeping dibergach before they knew it.
Pandemonium was suddenly let loose as the sword-wielding warriors clashed with their foes. Ardgal’s men were still using their long bows to great effect as some of the sentinels from other sides of the hill began torun forward to engage the Fianna. Screams and roars of pain began to rise from all around.
Eadulf came awake with a start, blinking his eyes. The chamber was in darkness but someone was shaking him fiercely.