XXII
One week after the spring games, Yorlayvo hopped upon his horse bright and early, before even the ever-dying sun had awoken, and made forthwith to Fnarslad. His young son, Kolmago, went beside him.
‘What a bother!’ said Kolmago. ‘It is much too early in the morning for travelling, and especially for riding.’
‘I will hear no more of that,’ said Yorlayvo. ‘When I was yet a lad, nothing short of sickness would keep us off our horses, and certainly not the foredawn darkness. Today, Kolmago, you will see what a worthy young man does for leisure.’
They came to Fnarslad at the break of dawn, but no one was up and about, even though it was early in the spring. As it happened, Osbago’s relatives had all abandoned the farm the evening prior, keen to avoid any consequences that might come of their guests’ plot. Osbago tried to keep them there, begging them to stay at his side, but they refused. Failing that, he tried to go with them, to get himself out of the matter likewise, but Broyndea would not let him go. Thus, his kinsfolk left him behind and spent the night at a neighbouring farm called Kollagonn, where Osbago’s cousin, Ammono Oylennan, was the householder.
Yorlayvo came to the door and bellowed, ‘Oy-oy, Osbago! You have some visitors.’
Then he went inside and found Osbago standing alone in the middle of the room, eyes wide and legs wobbling.
Yorlayvo said, ‘What is the matter, man? Is something awry?’
Thereupon the treachery unfolded. Gaymono crept along the wall outside and pounced upon Yorlayvo from behind, putting a bag over his head, knocking him down, and binding his hands behind his back. At the same time, Broyndea came in behind him, seized Kolmago, and pinned him to the floor, his breathing fraught as he tried to escape her hold.
‘Whatever is all this?’ said Yorlayvo. ‘Osbago?’
‘I really am very sorry,’ said Osbago. ‘But worry not! I will keep you safe and sound. I swear it!’
‘If you were sorry, you would be getting us out of this bind, not into it.’
‘I would if I could, but I cannot. But I am sorry, I truly am!’
So things went on, Yorlayvo demanding an explanation, Osbago pleading for forgiveness, and Kolmago sniffling beneath it all, until Broyndea had borne enough of it. She drew her beltknife and held it at Kolmago’s neck.
‘Enough!’ she said. ‘Be quiet! All of you!’
Of course, this did nothing to assuage Kolmago’s fear. Rather, with a blade pressed against his skin, the poor lad whimpered with all the more terror.
‘What is she doing?’ asked Yorlayvo. ‘Kolmago, stay calm. Do as they bid, and all will be well.’
‘Quite right,’ said Gaymono. He knelt beside Broyndea and encouraged her to put her knife away. ‘We mean you no harm. That said, wicked things have come to pass, and our pleas for justice have not been heeded. We must make ourselves heard, but please be assured that our quarrel is not with you.’
‘So why is it, then, that we are where we are?’
Gaymono was not sure if he should say anything just yet, so he looked to Broyndea, who shook her head. ‘All in due time. For now, you need only do as we ask, and no harm will befall you.’
‘And what is it you would ask of us to justify our bonds?’
‘Stay there and stay quiet,’ said Broyndea. ‘Boy, I am going to stand up, and you are going to stand with me. Try anything, and you will soon fall back down again. Got it?’
Kolmago nodded his head, his cheek pressed against the ground, and so Broyndea arose, and he arose with her.
‘Where are you taking him?’ asked Yorlayvo.
‘He need not be here,’ said Gaymono. ‘We are sending him home.’
Broyndea led Kolmago outside and asked him where he lived.
‘Pearmol,’ he said.
‘Good. Now listen carefully, for I have some instructions for you, and your father’s life depends upon your following them. Do you understand?’
Kolmago nodded.
‘Say it, boy. Do you understand?’
‘I understand.’
‘This is your task, then. Go home and tell your lord that we have made the Yorlayvo man our hostage, and that he is being held at Fnarslad. To have his man back unharmed, he must give us one in return, and only one. The only man we want is Thalo Asfoannan. Say his name back to me.’
Kolmago hesitated, but when Broyndea tightened her grip about his wrists, he said, ‘Thalo Asfoannan.’
‘Yes. Thalo Asfoannan. If you are to blame anyone for all this, blame him. So long as he yet shies away from justice, your father will remain our hostage, but I trust your lord will turn him over promptly. If we are not satisfied by the setting of the sun, your father will never see it rise again. Let your lord know this. Let him know that his pride will be his folly. Let him know that fate cannot be denied. Am I clear, boy?’
Kolmago said she was, and she let him go.
‘Off with you, then!’
With that, Kolmago leapt upon his horse and rode away to Pearmol with all the haste he could muster. As he went, Gaymono came outside.
‘My darling,’ he said, his voice heavy with a growing uncertainty. ‘What was that I heard about the setting of the sun?’
‘The cost of dithering,’ said Broyndea. ‘Do not falter now, my sweet. This is a matter of honour, yours and mine, and just so your father’s. We must see this through, whatever should come of it. Such is our obligation, and such is our privilege.’
Then she went inside to bind Osbago’s hands, that he could not turn against them. Gaymono’s doubts remained unallayed, but he felt Ograme’s hilt on his hip and swallowed his fear.
‘Fate favours the faithfuller son,’ he said, and he went inside behind her.
Kolmago returned to Pearmol around mid-morning. Amfredha brought him crying into the hall and called out for his mother, and Esleyna came to him at once. Ormana came behind her, and then Karvalo arrived to see what the fuss was about. Kolmago told his tale, and upon hearing such woeful news, Esleyna put her arm about her son and held him close.
‘I fear I have made matters worse,’ said Kolmago. ‘I left my father in their vengeful clutches, that they may wreak upon him any harm they like.’
‘No,’ said Esleyna. ‘My dear boy, no. It is for your haste that we can make this right. We will make this right.’ She looked to Karvalo in his chair, her eyes dark with dread. ‘We will make this right.’
‘Lad,’ said Karvalo, ‘why have they done this?’
Kolmago said only, ‘Thalo Asfoannan.’
Thalo was not in the hall at that time. Karvalo sent a man to fetch him, and when he arrived, all eyes fell upon him, sauntering down the aisle as if nothing were amiss. He asked why he had been summoned.
‘Yorlayvo has been put in bonds,’ said Karvalo. ‘A pair from Eylavol have made him their hostage, and they will free him only in exchange for you, and you alone. They demand blood for blood.’
Thalo said nothing. He supposed this was to do with the death of Gaylodho, so he took a moment to mull it all over, to discern Karvalo’s intentions, but his face remained inscrutable. If there was any fear at all within Karvalo’s heart, it was locked so tightly away, banished to its very farthest reaches, that not a glimmer of it shone through his eyes. That was a man of unmoving mind.
‘Prepare yourself,’ said Karvalo. ‘I am going to Fnarslad, and you will be coming with me.’
Then Karvalo went out of the hall. He mustered a troop to accompany him, all armed and armoured with their very best, and it soon seemed as if the yard was strewn with silver and gold, so fabulous were Karvalo’s thanes. He himself donned his armour for the first time in a good long while, clad in his finest mail coat and topped with his handsomest helmet, gold-wrought, red-crested, and shining in the midday sun. On his back, he slung the shield Yamveke, and from his hip hung gleam-glinting Gantewre. Thalo was armoured likewise, but less glamorously, with a spear in hand and old Sleme at his side.
Then, when everyone was atop their horses and ready to ride, Karvalo gave the word and led them out of the gate. But as they were leaving, Thalo caught sight of Ormana watching from the steps, grim of face and bearing alike. He gave her a shallow nod, and she held his gaze for a moment, her eyes hollow, before finally returning it. Thalo turned away and urged Ondayo onward.
The troop came to Fnarslad around mid-afternoon. Gaymono and Broyndea came outside to meet them, but upon being confronted with such a resplendent retinue, they realised they could have been rather better prepared.
‘Broyndea, my sweetheart,’ said Gaymono, ‘are you quite certain we two are up to this?’
‘Yes,’ said Broyndea. ‘We have the sounder cause. Fate is on our side.’
Gaymono was not so sure, but he kept his composure.
As he drew close, Karvalo leapt from his horse and strode up to the house, his troop thronging behind him.
‘Welcome,’ said Broyndea, ‘to Fnarslad.’
‘No,’ said Karvalo. ‘I will not be welcomed by you. This is my domain, in which I do the welcoming, though there is no cause for that today. Tell me who you are and what this is about, and I will tell you what will be done about it.’
‘I am Gaymono,’ said Gaymono, ‘and this is my dear wife, Broyndea. My father was Gaylodho Ayrkenennan, who was once the Earl of Eylavol, and who was murdered.’
‘I am aware of this.’
‘Of course.’ The quaver in Gaymono’s voice belied the surety of his words. ‘Then I trust you know the sorry circumstances of our meeting here. How about it? Are you willing to trade?’
‘Tell me this: where is Yorlayvo?’
‘Inside,’ said Broyndea.
‘Let me see him.’
‘No. He is inside, and he will remain there until we are done. If you are to see him again, it will not be until our demands are met.’
These bold words put a terrible scowl upon Karvalo’s face.
‘That is to say,’ Gaymono hastened to add, ‘you can see as much of him as you like if we hurry things along.’ He moved his gaze to Thalo, easily lost amid the mighty men of Pearmol, and his tone turned sombre. ‘Lord of Pearmol, I bid you do the honourable thing and yield the murderer to us, that we can put this matter to rest. We will have the appropriate justice, you will have your man back, and all will be well.’
Gaymono hoped this trade, a blow struck at Karvalo’s tenderest spot, a sore wound in his lordly pride, would make him more amenable, but alas, it did little to dishearten him. No, that stubborn man stood tall, his face yet as firm as the helmet encasing it.
He said, ‘I am not here to negotiate, but let me be generous. If you are so set upon seeking compensation from me, I will see what I can do about that. But I must make myself clear: not one man of mine will die for this. Should that not be agreeable, your options are twofold: leave this place unsatisfied, or never leave at all. If you will accept nothing less than blood, I will give you blood. I will give you spears and axes, wrack and ruin, death and dishonour both. I will be forced to unleash upon you such fury as you have never before witnessed. Now tell me, son of the slain, how red will be the sunset?’
Gaymono said nothing and retreated into the house, Broyndea beside him. Inside, he sat down shaking, right rattled by Karvalo’s boast.
‘Was that Karvalo I heard?’ said Yorlayvo. ‘You are done for!’ Before he could say any more, Broyndea kicked him quiet and took Gaymono into the storeroom to speak in secret.
‘Gaymono,’ she said. ‘Do not waver. We swore to have our vengeance. Do not dishonour that now. Do not fall to shame and disgrace.’
‘But how are we to do it?’ said Gaymono. ‘I fear the stags’ antlers are rut-locked and cannot be pried apart.’
‘It can be done, and you will do it. You must fight him. Neither we nor the Lord of Pearmol will compromise, but he may agree to an even duel. If he has placed such faith in Thalo that he refuses to yield him, he may be willing to let fate decide the way of things. And you, Gaymono, are the fairest fellow there is, so full of care and kindness, devoid of all mortal ills. Fate is on your side. This is your chance. You will have your vengeance.’
Gaymono shook his head. ‘This was not our course. I did not come to fight.’
Broyndea put her hand against Gaymono’s cheek, and with the other, she drew Ograme from its sheath and held it between them. ‘This is our life and lot. Gaymono, now is the hour to arise, to hold your oath, to honour your father, to arise and avenge. Fate wills it.’
Gaymono put his hand on Broyndea’s cheek likewise, and with the other, he gripped Ograme’s hilt. ‘So be it. To arise and avenge.’
Together they went back outside, and Gaymono called out for Karvalo. He was huddled with some of his thanes discussing the way forward, though they peeled apart upon Gaymono’s shout.
‘Lord of Pearmol,’ he said. ‘I have a proposition, if you will hear me.’
‘Say it,’ said Karvalo.
‘Let me offer a duel. Let Thalo and I fight one-on-one, and let fate decide whether my cause is worthy.’
Before Karvalo could answer, Thalo came striding forth, and said, ‘I will do it. I will fight you, and I will kill you.’
‘No,’ said Karvalo, pushing Thalo back. ‘I am not here to make deals, to gamble with the lives of my lotsmen.’
‘Do you doubt me?’
Karvalo pointed at Gaymono. ‘Do you see that man? He is the bigger, the broader, the taller, and, I would suppose, the mightier in all ways.’
‘And I have killed folk bigger than him, broader and taller and mightier. Or do you forget those trolls I put bleeding on your floor? I know this man. I killed his father, and I will kill him too, for a pig’s son is just another pig. He cannot harm me.’
‘Nor will he have the chance.’
Of Karvalo’s twofold sons, only one had come to Fnarslad with him. Essero had already assigned that day to be spent with Ernala, an engagement he was wholly unwilling to put aside, and so Awldano alone stood behind his father.
‘You should let it happen,’ he said. ‘As far as I can see, neither side is going to relent. If you were to rush in on the attack, you would certainly prevail, but who can say whether Yorlayvo would see the end of it? The safest way forward, I think, is to take up this offer and trust that Thalo is the luckier fighter. If even half of what I have heard is true, you need not fear for the outcome.’
‘And if he wins,’ said Karvalo, ‘you suppose they would respect that?’
‘They speak of honour. I should hope they have some of their own.’
‘I do not deal in hope. I deal in reason, in fact and the light of day.’
‘And the light of day is fading. If the sun sets with this matter unresolved, all is lost.’
‘That is an empty threat. Yorlayvo is all they have. They would not simply cast that aside.’
‘Maybe so, but given where they are, and all they have said and done, would you rather doubt their conviction, or trust in their honour?’
Karvalo took a moment to consider these words, looking between Thalo, Gaymono, and Awldano, until he said, ‘Very well. I will stake my pride upon the outcome of this fight.’
Thus did Karvalo and Thalo meet with Gaymono and Broyndea to decide the terms of their duel. They agreed that each fighter would wield a sword alone and wear no armour, so Thalo took off his helmet and his mail coat. Broyndea and Awldano were the appointed shield-bearers, but Broyndea had not brought a shield, so she borrowed one from one of Karvalo’s thanes. With the terms agreed, Karvalo asked that Yorlayvo be released, for his life was no longer hanging in the balance. Broyndea refused.
‘He will not be released,’ she said, ‘until the will of fate is decreed.’
Karvalo scoffed, but he did not challenge this.
Thalo and Gaymono then took up their positions, Awldano and Broyndea each three paces therebehind, and proceeded with the customary boasts.
‘Now,’ said Gaymono, ‘let us settle this feud once and for all. One of us shall live, one of us shall die, and fate alone shall be the arbiter.’
Thalo drew from its sheath strife-swung Sleme, Gaylodho’s bane. ‘As is fitting.’
* * *
Inside, Yorlayvo remained bound and bagged, with Osbago beside him in much the same predicament. He asked Osbago whether anyone else was still in the house, and Osbago said both Gaymono and Broyndea were outside.
‘Good,’ whispered Yorlayvo. ‘I need you to help me out of this bind. Take this bag off my head and loosen my bonds, and I can get out of here while their attention lies elsewhere.’
‘No,’ said Osbago, ‘They will kill us both.’
‘Not if you hurry. This is our chance, Osbago.’
Osbago took the bag off Yorlayvo’s head. ‘You do not understand. Your life is not at risk, they have sworn as much. You need only wait.’
‘No. These folk want one thing alone, but they will never get it. You heard what they said. If their demands are unmet by sunset, I am dead. And if I am dead, so are you. Whatever happens, Karvalo will throw at you his entire wrath. Your only hope is to ensure I am there to temper it. Your only hope, Osbago, is to get me out of this, and the sooner the sounder.’
‘Are you sure? Are you certain?’
‘There is no other way.’
Osbago went to untie the rope about Yorlayvo’s wrists, but he told him to start with his ankles, for he did not need his hands to run, and so he turned his attention to Yorlayvo’s feet. Thus the course of fate was set. Osbago’s hands were yet bound, and he was so stricken with fright, so laden with worry, that he terribly bodged the unbinding, and began panicking.
‘The knot is too tight,’ he said. ‘The knot is too tight!’
‘Osbago,’ said Yorlayvo, ‘slow down. Stay calm.’
But Osbago was no calm-minded fellow. Desperate to undo the knot, he began tearing and clawing at the rope, yanking Yorlayvo’s feet every which way, until, overcome by fear, he wept. This all made rather more of a racket than intended, and enough to catch Broyndea’s attention, yet stood before the door, shield in hand and pitying her husband’s gormless boasts. She slipped quietly inside to see what was afoot, and there she found Yorlayvo against the wall, his head unbagged, and Osbago crying at his feet.
‘Traitor!’ she cried, and she charged, her shield ploughing into Osbago and bowling him over.
For all his trying with the rope, Osbago had at least loosened it enough for Yorlayvo to stand up, to thrust his shoulder at Broyndea, to try to knock her down and hop to freedom, but she was of surer footing. She put up her shield to catch the blow, and before she had taken even a moment to think, she brought forth her beltknife and plunged it squarely into Yorlayvo’s side.
‘Aiee!’ he said, buckling to the ground with a terrible cry.
Then the fact of the matter dawned upon Broyndea. Unsure what else to do, she pointed her knife at Osbago, crumpled upon the floor, and said, ‘Stay down. This is your fault. You did this!’
She stepped towards him, loomed over him, intent upon further violence, but her knife was stayed when a second terrible cry arose outside. She rushed out to see how the will of fate had fallen, only to stop by the door, pinned in place by the sudden weight of despair. There was Gaymono, lying dead upon the floor. There was Thalo, prying her husband’s sword from his lifeless hand. There was Karvalo, stoic before his glittering troop. There was her failure, and there was her doom. Yet even so, the warrior within would not be quelled.
‘To do or die doing!’ she said, and she clenched her knife in her hand and sprang forth, her mind set singly upon laying waste to Thalo, the killer of her kin, her eternal foe.
Thalo’s back was turned as he claimed Ograme for himself, but Karvalo’s troop all moved to meet her. Awldano was nearest. He braced his shield, and in one motion he shoved Thalo aside and drove his spear into Broyndea’s chest. Her knife fell to the ground, and once the rest of the troop had set upon her, she fell with it. Thus did Gaymono and Broyndea die without their justice.
Karvalo sped past this and into the house. There he found Osbago mewling in the corner, his head buried deep in rope-bound hands, and Yorlayvo slumped against the wall and bleeding from his side. He knelt beside his beloved friend, freed him from his bonds, and took him in his arms.
‘Yorlayvo,’ he said, ‘dear Yorlayvo.’
‘Karvalo,’ said Yorlayvo, sighing. ‘I am hurt. I see with waking eyes my death drawing near, Domnadhe’s children creeping forth from the darkness. Yet even so, the pain of this mortal wound is little next to that of my looming fear that I will be forever parted from you.’
‘Hush. We need not be parted yet.’
Yorlayvo smiled weakly. ‘One’s fate cannot be refused, and mine has now been allotted. It has been an honour, my friend, to know you, and to love you.’
‘So it has, my friend.’
Then Karvalo shed a single tear, kissed Yorlayvo’s forehead, and held him to his breast. Yorlayvo’s eyes grew dim, his body slackened, and cradled in the comfort of Karvalo’s arms, he died.