The next morning, as they rode towards the capital in Meath, Macc was thinking about the reactions of the king of Ulster. Something seemed wrong with all that had transpired after the capture of the king and his champion. When they had adjourned to the feast hall, the king ordered mead to be brought. The party drank heavily into the night, and now Macc’s head was in a haze. He could not think straight about what was causing his misgivings and so turned his mind to the approaching meeting with Eterscel. King Connavar had voiced his fears that the High King would react immediately and violently to the arrival of Conall in the feast hall in Temuir. Macc was starting to think those fears were not unfounded. Eterscel had never been known for his reasoning and patience. Now, in his dotage, he was like a pot of naphtha; one spark was all it would take to create a conflagration.
“Dond,” Macc called.
The old warrior rode a few horse lengths in front with Connery and Conall. The younger men had become friends since Connery intervened on Conall’s behalf. Dond reined back his horse and stopped beside Macc on the road’s edge.
“What is it? Do not ruin my good mood, caused by what was a successful expedition, I think.”
“Yes, very successful. I have been thinking, though—”
“Here it comes,” Dond interrupted.
“The king seemed less than happy about our petitioning Eterscel.”
“He is afraid the High King will kill us before we have a chance to plead Conall’s case,” Dond said.
“Yes, I know, and I think he might be right. Eterscel is no longer the man he was. He is prone to irrational decisions and outbursts of anger.”
***
Dond watched the horsemen pass without responding. He was proud to have led these men for so long and sad that his time as the champion of Meath was soon to end. No one had told him, but he knew Macc was being groomed to replace him. There was no reason to leave him out of what happened with the druids unless they intended to put him out to pasture like an old war horse.
“What do you propose?” he finally asked.
Macc smiled. Dond had nearly decapitated Connery only the previous day for voicing the same opinion.
“Let us approach the High King with caution and send Connery and Conall to Buachalla in Indber Colptha. We can inform Eterscel of Nuadu’s treachery and then send for them after he has calmed down.”
“That’s a good idea,” Dond said before nudging his horse forward to tell the two the news.
The new friends were mid-way down the line of warriors, so it took Dond a little time to reach them. As he rode, he thought about the events of the last two days and how his underling had watched the young Connery closely. It seemed apparent that Macc was nurturing the boy. What was not so evident was why.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
“That’s quite some line of warriors,” he said as he reined in beside Connery and Conall.
“Four hundred warriors make for a long line,” Conall agreed.
“Listen, Conall, Macc thinks you need to stay hidden until after we speak to the High King,” Dond could think of no way to ease into the issue.
Conall frowned at the old warrior, asking, “And what do you think?”
Dond assumed a speculative look before he answered, “I think Eterscel might have become a little bit hasty over time, and it might be wise not to test him.”
Conall nodded. Dond looked at the young Connery, who shrugged and watched on timidly, offering no insights. Dond wondered if the young man realized he had nearly died the previous day for saying precisely what Dond had just repeated.
Yesterday, you saved Conall from a peaty grave, risking your head, and today, you watch on timidly as if you haven’t a care. I do not know how to read you, Connery. I am glad it will soon no longer be my worry.
“We divide at the fork,’ he called as he rode to rejoin Macc.
***
“What do you think of Connery?” Dond asked. He was riding for Temuir with Macc and his sons, having taken the south-western fork in the road. The warrior band had taken the south-eastern fork with Conall and Connery, heading for Indber Colptha. Dond had given the warband instructions to return to Temuir after leaving the young men in Buachalla’s homestead.
“I was just thinking about him,” Macc replied with a look of concentration. “When he sat on that log and let others do the killing, I thought he was weak. But then he stood up to you and confused me.”
“Yes, he seems to be an enigma,” Dond agreed. “Whining cur one minute and warrior the next. Why have you taken him under your protection?”
Macc looked at Dond, who was feigning disinterest as though the question had been wholly innocent.
“No particular reason. I like his mother,” he replied.
“Yes, she is a beauty, but protecting the weak is not what a warrior’s life is about.”
“No? Please tell me, Dond, what the life of a warrior is about because I must admit, I am beginning to wonder.”
“Easy that. Plunder, mead, women, battle, and above all, glory. Listening to a honey-voiced bard sing your praise. I’m surprised you don’t know it,” Dond said and then chuckled because he was not surprised at all.
You overthink everything, Macc, he thought, watching the youth.
“Glory and plunder? I am not so sure, Dond.”
“No. I know. But you will learn.”
Dond looked up, surprised to see they had reached the foot of the hill at Temuir. They dismounted and tethered their mounts outside the palisade of Gráinne’s Fort. He told his sons to watch the horses, and they walked to the feast hall.
As they neared the entrance, Dond frowned. He did not recognize the guards on either side of the oxhide cover. Eterscel was very particular about who guarded his feast hall, and Dond, as king’s champion, always recognized the guards.
Something happened in our absence, he realized, with a frown.
The guards must have been told to expect Macc and Dond because they waved them through without delay. Macc lifted the hide and stood aside so Dond could enter. Side by side, they strode up the central aisle of the hall. The interior was shadowed and dark, so it took a little while for their eyes to adjust, but when they had, they could see Nuadu Necht sitting on the throne of the Five Kingdoms.