Chapter 7: 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. The solar panels were removed off the roof of the van and erected them on the roof of the cabin, with the batteries under a ledge at the rear of the house under the eaves.

At the rear of 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 slate, 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 told us.

We all run to see whom it was, as we have never seen anyone at our site before.

I was now glad that our communication skills were improved as well as they were for this was an example where we really needed it.Neither of us was proficient in one another's language, but with a combination of the two, we had means of communication between us all.

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've never seen anyone dressed in cloth like that, it is not the same as yours, its rougher." Jane said, Hild nodding in agreement.

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 too closely 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.

Whilst 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.

"What is the man saying Jane?"

Jane just shook her head.

"He was a Druid named Breoca."

I went to cut two saplings to use as poles for a stretcher, when I saw a young woman hiding amongst the sapling growth.

"Who are you, why do you hide there." in the fragmented local language

"Eastorhyld daughter of Dunstan, and I am afraid of you."

I called Hild over, "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.

"We are going to lift you on to the stretcher," I informed the Druid.

Jane and I gently lifted the elderly man on to the make shift stretcher.Hild and Eastorhyld by this time had come over beside Jane and I. 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 quite 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.

"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.

"Who are you, and where were 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.

Turning to Jane,"What did Breoca say to you?"

"He was a Druid, but not just any Druid but the head Druid teacher of the west. He was on his way back there with important items. He had fallen crossing the stream and injured his hip. He thinks he has broken or cracked his hipbone (Pelvis), and that he was passing blood."

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 that 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?"

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.

"Jane!" I called, and she came over.

"The druid said if we get the leaves or the bark of Willow and crush them in a little water it would relieve his pain. Do you know where there is any willow, I ask you because I know you have knowledge of the herbs and vegetation in the area."

"Yes I know where to get the bark and leaves of the willow."

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 could tell that she had done this before, as she seemed quite proficient in what she was doing. She then poured about a cup of hot water onto 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 all followed.

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

Jane held Breoca by the back of the neck and raised his mouth to the cup. I noticed that 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?"

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."

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

"Raiders from the west killed their husbands, I rescued them and they wanted to live with me, so I took them for my wives. If the raiders return I want them to be able to defend themselves."

I could see that Breoca was thinking, 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?" I asked him and Eastorhyld.

"Yes we both are, but I don't want any solids," Breoca replied.

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

I knew that Breoca and Eastorhyld were going to be with us for quite a while, whilst his injury healed sufficiently for him to travel. I had to arrange bedding for them; but wait, surely if they had been traveling 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?"

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

"Come with me then and show me where."

We returned to the spot where I had seen her first, and lying on the ground in the thicket was two hides, rolled up and tied with leather thongs, as I had seen when Hild returned to the clearing for the first time. I picked them both up and slung them over my shoulder.