The Dragon Revenant - Katharine Kerr [179]
Rhodry’s cousin? Cullyn said. Now that’s interesting.
“Interesting and a half, truly. He’s leaving Cerrmor by ship for Abernaudd tomorrow. I want to meet him there and head him off. It may not be politic for him to come marching into Aberwyn just now.”
“Darryl and Gwarryc would take it wrong. They’d think he was the king’s spy, most like, and go all touchy about it.”
“Just so, especially since Blaen’s got a warband with him. And another thing—when Rhodry does get home, it might be better if he landed at Abernaudd or even in some quiet little harbor like Morlyn rather than sailing right into a wasp’s nest. Which brings me to the main point. I was wondering if you’d come with me? We need to take the rest of Rhodry’s men along, too, if the regent will allow. We might need them.”
“We might, at that, and of course I’ll come if my lady allows.” He turned to Calonderiel. “Now, I’m not sure what we’ll do with you while we’re gone. Lock you up, maybe. My wife tells me that her lass Glomer finds you too interesting for her own good.”
“The child has splendid taste in men.” Calonderiel grinned at him. “But I’m coming with you. I know that Abernaudd will shriek at the sight of me, but I want to be there to greet Rhodry when he lands. Think of the effect it’ll have—a man of the Westfolk hailing our Rhodry as gwerbret and ally.”
Cullyn whistled under his breath.
“Effect, indeed,” Aderyn said, and he sounded oddly grim. “Well, if Rhodry lands, anyway. I wish to every god that there was some way to get reliable messages across this cursed ocean! I’ll have to try to think one up. Blaen is going to want to know where his cousin is, too, and the gwerbret is not the sort of man you like to keep waiting.”
Although Blaen knew that traveling incognito would be impossible for a man of his rank and renown, he was trying to keep his arrival in Eldidd reasonably quiet. Under the king’s peace a man had the right to travel anywhere in the kingdom that he chose, whether he was a commoner or a gwerbret, but in practice gwerbrets were a good bit more limited than commoners, especially if they brought an honor guard of twenty-five men along with them. Blaen had no desire to offend Ceredyc, Gwerbret Abernaudd, by bringing armed men into his demesne; on the other hand, he refused to travel without them, because he couldn’t predict what sort of welcome he’d get in Aberwyn. If Rhodry were indeed dead, then Blaen would need to leave Eldidd very quickly, and someone might well be chasing him. Long before he left Cerrmor he sent a messenger to Ceredyc to make it dear that Blaen expected absolutely nothing in the way of ceremony or gwerbretal pomp and that he would only be staying a short while in Abernaudd, at the dun of a cousin, Lord Sibyr, who lived about two miles outside the city proper.
He was surprised, therefore, to see a small crowd of men who were obviously riders from a warband waiting when the coaster came gliding up to the main pier in Abernaudd, and even more surprised when he realized that they were wearing the red-lion device of Dun Gwerbyn. With his captain, Comyn, trading after, Blaen walked up to the bow of the ship while the sailors were tying her up to the bollards.
“That’s Cullyn of Cerrmor, isn’t it?” Blaen remarked.
“Wouldn’t know, Your Grace. I’ve never seen him.”
“Ah. I have, and I’d swear that’s him. Much older, of course, than the last time I saw him. He’s been Tieryn Lovyan’s captain for some time now. What’s he doing here?”
The mystery was solved when the gwerbret disembarked and Cullyn came hurrying over to kneel before him.
“It gladdens my heart to see you, Your Grace. A friend of Nevyn’s sent me to meet you.”
Sorcery again. Blaen sighed, resigned and, now that he thought of it, rather accustomed to the whole idea as well.
“Well and good, then, captain. You may rise. Where is this friend of Nevyn’s?”
“Staying at an inn down in town, Your Grace, and waiting until you have a moment to speak with him.”
“Well, that best be as soon as possible.