Chapter 9: A New Visitor

We spent the next couple of days rearranging our effects and unloading all the household effects that were in the boxes. Some of the boxes I hadn't bothered to open previously, in them we found sheets, pillowcases, towels and all the usual items found in a household. Now we had the space we got them all out. I made up a cupboard of sorts with planks that I split from the logs. I was even able to make legs for it, again joined with treenails. We were able to store all our kitchen equipment on the shelves, and used a curtain on the front to hide the stuff stored on the shelves. The crockery was stacked on the top.

The Ration Packs we moved into the van. And I took the solar panels off the roof of the van and erected them on the roof of the cabin, with the batteries under a ledge behind the house.

Behind the house I dug a shallow trench, about six inches deep and a spade width wide, this was directed away from the house towards the forest down the small incline. I then lined the trench with stones; this was to collect the water flowing off the roof and direct it away from the walls.

One afternoon when I was digging a patch of ground that I was going to make into a vegetable garden, with the wild pea seed that Jane had found, Hild came running from the stream direction calling us.

"There's an old man lying near the stream badly injured or very ill," she said. We run to see who it was, as we have never seen anyone near our site before.

During the building of the cabin, working closely all the time with Jane and Hild, they had taught me a lot more words in their language, and they had picked up more English from me. Now we could have conversations that were made up of both theirs and mine. Neither of us was expert in one another's language, but with a combination of the two, we had better means of communication between us.

When we got there, sure enough there was an elderly man lying by the stream. He was dressed not in hide, but a rough home weave.

"I have never seen anyone dressed as he," said Jane.

"Nor I," said Hild.

I examined him. He was not unconscious but groaning and holding his lower abdomen. I tried to get him to stand but he was unable to do so. It was obvious that he was in severe pain. I had tried to take a haversack like valise from him, but he clutched it tightly to his body.

It was going to be difficult to move him unless we had a stretcher. Then I remembered the old inner tubes I had taken off the wheels, when I made our hot water system. I returned to the clearing, collected all the inner tubes, and returned to the stream.

While I had been gone the man had been talking to Jane and they were still at it when I returned. They seemed to be discussing something very important. When I asked what it was Jane just shook her head.

Then she said. "His name is Breoca he is a Druid."

Now I have met a real Druid, well that put me well before the Roman conquest. The Romans slaughtered all the Druids as a way to suppress the locals.

I went to cut two saplings to use as poles for a stretcher. It was then I saw a young woman hiding among the sapling growth.

I asked? "Who are you, why do you hide there." In the fragmented language of Jane.

She replied, "Eastorhyld daughter of Dunstan, and I am afraid of you, you are dressed different to anyone I have ever met."

I called Hild over and said to her, "Hild take care of this young woman, and tell her we mean no harm. Her name is Eastorhyld"

I cut the two sapling lengths; they were about two inches in diameter and just over six feet long, and returned to the injured man.

I then threaded the two saplings through the inner tubes, and evenly spaced them along its length.

I told him that we were going to lift him on to the stretcher. Jane and I gently lifted the elderly man on to the makeshift stretcher.

Hild and Eastorhyld by this time had come over beside Jane and me. With Jane and Hild taking one end of a sapling each, I got hold of the two shafts at the other end; we lifted the man up and made our way back to the clearing.

I wasn't going to take him into our house but we lifted him into the van. The back of the van was clear, we hadn't stowed all our spare equipment in it yet. I got four of the boxes of rations down and placed the end of the saplings on each box. To prevent the saplings coming together, I placed a smaller box between the two handles at either end until I could fix a more permanent arrangement.

I asked, "Are you comfortable?" In by fragmented local dialect.

In a feeble voice he replied, "I am now, but feel great pain."

Good I must be getting the words right as he understands me. This definitely gave me a lot more confidence to carry on using it.

I again asked him, "Who are you, and where are you from?"

There wasn't much I could do, my medical knowledge stretched to the basic first aid that all forces personnel learn. Which isn't much really, except for sticking on a plaster and treat for shock. This man didn't look in shock and was quite lucid, although his voice was weak.

We left the van, Eastorhyld stayed with the Druid Breoca.

"Jane what did Breoca tell you?"

"He said he was a druid, not any druid, but the head of the Druids in the west. He had been on his way there with important items. He had fallen crossing the stream, and injured his hip, and thinks he has either cracked or broken his hip bone (Pelvis). Also he was passing blood. That's all he said as well as telling me his name that is."

Hild then said, "Easterhyld said they were coming from a Druid College in a land over water in the east, and she was on her way home."

This all confirmed what they had said. But what were the important items? Were they in the bag the Druid keeps clutching so tightly? Very strange!

I returned to the van to ask Breoca a question, as I was always led to believe that Druids were also healers. I approached the stretcher and knelt down by the head of the Druid.

"Breoca is there anything I can do to help your pain?" I asked.

He softly replied "Crush some leaves or bark of willow in a little water and give it to me to drink. This will help relieve the pain."

I left the van, called Jane over,"Jane the Druid says if we crush the leaves or bark from the willow it will help relieve his pain. Do you know where there is any willow?" The reason I told Jane, as I knew she was an expert on the various plants in the area. She would know where to get the Willow leaves or bark.

Jane took off almost straight away, and was only gone about ten minutes, returning with a bundle of willow leaves in her arms. She washed the leaves, put them in one of our pots, and with a short rounded stick started pounding the leaves. I think that she had done this before, for she seemed quite skilful in what she was doing. She then poured about a cup of hot water on to the smashed leaves, continuing to pound them. Jane then held back the pulp and poured the green liquid into one of our cups. Jane took it into the Druid.

We followed.

"My wife has made the solution that you asked for and will give you it to drink!" I said.

Jane held Breoca by the back of the neck and raised his mouth to the cup. I noticed the cup astounded him, as he looked down his nose to gaze at it. Jane let him sip the liquid and when he had enough, rested his head back down on the stretcher.

"Where did you get the wonderful thin cup?" He asked.

Then I think that he noticed for the first time the manner in which we were dressed.

"You are not of this place, are you?" He asked.

"No!"

But how could I explain to him the incident. So I just said to him, "My wives are of this place."

"How can that be they are dressed so odd and they are both armed, women do not go about armed," said the Druid Breoca.

"Their clothing is from my land, as well as the weapons and I want my women to go armed," I replied

"Both their husbands were killed by raiders from the west. I found Jane staked to the ground and left to die. Hild I rescued from her abductors. She asked if she could stay with us," I explained.

"Yes that is the custom. The women are yours by right," he said weakly.

He thought for a while, and then replied. "When I am well enough to travel I will speak to the people of the clan in the west and forbid the taking of slaves in this area. You have rendered me assistance and I think you should be rewarded justly."

"Are you hungry, do you want anything to eat?" I asked him and Eastorhyld.

"Yes!" They both replied.

"I had better not have any solids," added Breoca.

"We will be eating shortly and would gladly share our meal!" I replied.

I knew that Breoca and Eastorhyld were going to be with us for a while, while his injury healed enough for him to travel. I had to arrange bedding for them, but wait; surely if they had been travelling they would have had bedding. When Hild came with us she brought her hide bedding with her.

I returned to the van and asked Eastorhyld. "Where is your bedding, surely you have some?"

Eastorhyld replied "It is in the thicket where you found me."

"Come with me then and show me where," I said.