XXX
Now two years passed, during which Thalo and Awldano grew ever closer in every way, although there is nothing truthful written about that.
It was also during these years that Arleno, Lord of Samnew, finally died. He had been ill for so long before his eventual death that no one grieved for him, for they had spent all their tears in the years prior. Instead, they said only how remarkable it was that he had managed to cling to so little life for so long. He was succeeded in the lordship by his eldest surviving child, Trewgeo, who wasted no time in bringing his father’s retinue to heel.
When Karvalo heard about this, he sighed, saying, ‘So it goes.’
He sent a messenger to Samnew to invite Trewgeo to affirm their fathers’ oaths, but Trewgeo refused this.
‘I will not bend before Karvalo,’ he said, ‘unless he stabs me with his own hateful hands. Death alone will bring my knees to buckle.’
Then he sent the messenger home to tell Karvalo what he had said.
‘This is no surprise,’ said Karvalo, ‘though it is unwelcome all the same.’
About a month or so later, Ewglena, Lord of Knessyar, hosted a meeting of the lords of Yaranweg and Fedhalonn, who had long been bound to one another as sworn allies. Karvalo chaired this meeting, as was the right of the Lord of Pearmol, and Trewgeo also came along. In the fourth seat was Yarnaga, Lord of Syornes. Karvalo made his grievances their priority.
‘We will speak of nothing else,’ he said, ‘until we have established that we are four of one mind. I bid we each affirm our mutual oaths and bind ourselves together as mortal allies.’
Yarnaga and Ewglena both agreed to this, but Trewgeo refused, saying, ‘What I think you mean, Karvalo, is that you will not listen to what we have to say unless we swear not to say anything you dislike. Is that not so?’
‘It is not. My intention here is to make each of us the others’ equal, and to render our oaths of friendship fate-fastened. If that means I must hear all your horrible words, Trewgeo, that is a price I am willing to pay.’
‘How very generous of you, but I have already sworn myself to the king, my kinsman, with whom my prospects are very much greater.’
‘You have two hands, Trewgeo.’
‘But I am no treacherous fellow. Unlike some, I honour my oaths. I will not swear one I do not mean to keep.’
Then Trewgeo left the room. Karvalo went away himself, leaving the ladies alone together. Ewglena asked Yarnaga if she wished to continue the meeting.
‘It would seem the decision has already been made,’ said Yarnaga, ‘whether I wish it or not.’
They both agreed to retire likewise.
Karvalo had now lost all faith in Trewgeo, and he decided that something must be done about it. He could not let Samnew free itself from his influence. Thus, he brought to his side a woman named Eyge, who was among his most trusted thanes. Her task was to go to Samnew in secret, and to keep an eye on everything that happened there. Indeed, she proved so excellent a sniffer that she returned to Pearmol only a few weeks later, and with some very interesting news. She told Karvalo that Trewgeo had hosted the king and his lot, that they had bound themselves together as mortal allies, to be six of one mind, and that Trewgeo had not been truthful when he said this had already happened.
Karvalo heard this news with anger swelling as swiftly in his heart as it never had before, but Eyge bade him hold it in a moment longer.
‘There is more to say,’ she said, and she told him that Trewgeo had met recently with a handful of Karvalo’s sheriffs and paid them to disregard their obligations as his bondsfolk. ‘Nor, from what I gather, is this the first time it has happened.’
That was enough. Karvalo stood up, and with his eyes clouded by rage, he beat the table with his fists, wishing Trewgeo were there to soften the blows. Once he had loosed the last of his wrath, he steadied his breathing and sat back down. His thoughts turned to the shrieval assembly of the year prior, and to Osbago’s death, and to Yorlayvo’s, and the truth of things became clearer in his mind.
‘Eyge,’ he said, ‘fetch Thorreda for me. We three have much to discuss.’
Karvalo sat down with Thorreda and Eyge that afternoon, and together they sought to determine exactly what was afoot. Karvalo said Trewgeo must have been involved in Yorlayvo’s murder, and that there could be no forgiveness for that. Thorreda was not so sure.
She said, ‘This was a matter between the northerners and your sheriff, was it not? What place would a man of Samnew have in that? And the present lord, no less?’
‘And how,’ said Karvalo, ‘do you suppose a pair of northerners found their way to Fnarslad, a farm so lacking in notoriety, to capture one man, and only one? It could not have been a coincidence. Trewgeo has known me all his life, and he knew Yorlayvo likewise. He would certainly have been able to facilitate this. He must have done, the spiteful wretch that he is.’
‘As could many others, as are many others. If your love for Yorlayvo was a secret, it was poorly kept.’
‘But why Fnarslad, then? Let me tell you. Trewgeo seeks to turn my sheriffs against me, and Osbago must have stood among the traitors, colluding with him to bring me low. Trewgeo sent them to Fnarslad, knowing Yorlayvo would go there.’
‘Then what brought them to Samnew in the first place?’
‘I turned them away. It should not be surprising that they visited Samnew next, given the friendship that has formerly been fostered between our halls, the friendship Trewgeo would so recklessly abandon. Anyone would have gone there next, until recently.’
Thorreda, ever cautious, was not convinced, but there was no doubt at all in Karvalo’s heart—if he could blame Trewgeo, he would. He knew him well enough, and how he liked to do things, and he would not be swayed.
‘Fate itself is on my side,’ he said. ‘I know it to be true.’
‘Very well, said Thorreda. ‘What, then, are you to do about it?’
Karvalo wanted to march a troop over to Samnew, capture Trewgeo, and kill him and be done with it, but he had already sworn himself to the king, who would surely seek to avenge him. To kill him, then, would be to invite war to Pearmol, and to his allies’ domains, and then surely into the whole kingdom. And though he did not lack confidence, Karvalo was not eager to wage such a war. He would instead prefer to sort things quietly.
Thus, he started by summoning another shrieval assembly, during which he seized from their seats those sheriffs who had been accused of conspiring with Trewgeo. They were eightfold, excluding Osbago. Their names were Anlava, Enyana, Odo, Oldea, Reyfneo, Rollawga, Thnesdeo, and Tholreda. They were each dragged onto the platform and forced to prostrate themselves with their arms stretched forwards, and a big man knelt atop each of them to prevent their rising. Karvalo then took up an axe and cut off their hands one by one as they lay crying out beneath him. This was not a usual punishment, and it would garner him fear and grievance in equal measure.
It should also be noted that Oldea protested in particular, for she had not met with Trewgeo at all. Eyge had only named her due to a personal grudge. In any case, wrathful Karvalo had not interrogated the matter at all, so she suffered no less than the others.
The behanded sheriffs each had their stump wrists burnt, and then they were made to kneel on the platform while Karvalo spoke about the treachery of his bondsfolk. He warned that any who dared to defy him would thenceforth be subject to only the harshest of penalties.
‘My patience,’ he said, ‘is utterly spent.’
Then he ended the assembly.
In the following weeks, he set up many booths across his domain, one for each of his shrievalties. Each of these was manned by two of his thanes, to keep watch over the sheriffs, to raise the alarm should Trewgeo try to coerce them into treachery, and to defend them should he instead try to inflict upon them retribution. This proved effective, and Karvalo had no further trouble with his sheriffs for a while. However, it would not be sustainable to have so many of his thanes spread so widely across his domain. It became clear that he would need to find a more permanent solution.