This is the final chapter of Angry Mermaid. I could drag on by writing about Drustina and Carl's married life and children but that would be too much like a 'Happily ever after' fairy-tale.

Beverly.

The Angry Mermaid 130
Or
Y Morforwyn Dicllon 130

As Drustina steered her stolen craft down the River Ribel Gisela kept checking astern for signs of pursuit. There appeared to be none and everybody felt relief. The Royal herald sat thoughtfully in the sheets while the farmer watched the banks sweeping by. Eventually the farmer turned to the Lioness.

“So what now?” How do we stop this renegade bishop?

“We return to Brunbah and recover my trusty ship The Angry Mermaid from her hiding place. Then we take both ships up to Wygan and deliver this grain to the Townsman there. People will be starving if he doesn’t get some sort of supplies to feed them. The herald can report to my Husband Carl in Chester. He can explain the situation and Carl can send a troop of soldiers to bring order to Preston. Then we’ll sort this mess out quickly.

“But the Bishop might have escaped by then. Will your husband act quickly on your say-so?” The farmer pressed.

All three nodded their heads in unison and the farmer realised he was in the company of a very powerful warrior queen.
Quickly they reached the open sea and set course southwards for the River Mersea. Drustina and Gisela stood watches and by the following morning the familiar landmarks came into view. Noon found them stopping by at Brunbah where the Herald disembarked and set off for Chester post haste with a hand written note from Drustina for Carl’s eyes and the Kings’ only, if he hadn’t yet gone south again to Winchester. No sooner had the herald disembarked when Drustina visited the local garrison commander and co-opted a competent crew to sail further up the rivers Mersea and Weaver to recover The Angry Mermaid from her hiding place. She was pleased when several of her old crew appeared including Hengis her long time first Mate.

“I will also want a man learned in the river channels up to Wygan.”

Her wishes were immediately attended to and they soon found her faithful ‘Mermaid’ little the worse for wear except for the accumulation of leaves, and general detritus blown in by wind and rain. Drustina sniffed emotionally as they set about cleaning her up and soon they were on route to Wygan with the two ships.

When both ships arrived at the settlement, the townsman was almost in tears with relief at the sudden and unexpected arrival of a ship-load of food. He stared with grateful surprise at the cargo.

“But there’s both meat and corn your ladyship! Thank you! Thank you! You have saved my town from disaster.”

“There’s more to come but it will take time to ship it from the granaries at Chester. This is just to tide you over. Have you any news from Preston?”

“Not much my lady; most of the traffic from the north seems to have dried up, but we’ve had a few people who’ve recently escaped from the town.”

‘Escaped?’She mused. ‘Why doesn’t that surprise me?’ She voiced her thoughts.

“Escaped? Is Preston under siege or something and what news of the Bishop Celyn?”

“He is still in control of the town. “ The townsman replied. “All the new arrivals are still confirming that.”

“He’s probably having to reorganise another fast vessel to make an escape with his booty.” She surmised. “I think I’ll take my Mermaid back to the River Ribel and possibly trap him up the river so he’ll have to choose another escape route.”
Having decided this, she left instructions for any troops sent from Chester to continue up to Preston and restore the King’s peace. Gisela was left to wait and inform Carl’s troop when it arrived post-haste from Chester. Kicking her heels was an activity that Drustina loathed but it would be folly to rush up the road to Preston undermanned and ill-prepared. It was far better to utilise the Angry Mermaid’s speed and cut off escape for the bishop by sea. She returned to The Angry Mermaid and set sail again.
On passing north past Brunbah again she was pleased to learn a military column was already bound for Wygan and Preston from Chester.

~o000o~

It was fully three days before the troop of Carl’s soldiers arrived in Wygan and Gisela was never more relieved. She had earlier despatched some local men to try and garner information about the situation in Preston and several of them had returned with varying reports; but all had one fact in common. Bishop Celyn was still there. Gisela seethed as the reports came in for it was obvious that the bishop was utilising what little time he had left to feather his nest to the maximum.

Knowing that the bishop almost certainly had his own spies cast far and wide, the Norse princess prepared carefully.

In the middle of the night Gisela despatched two platoons of soldiers to circle around Preston and close off any escape to the north and east. Finally she received word that Drustina had arrived in the estuary of the River Ribel. The Angry Mermaid and two other ships that had been attached to her command at Brunbah would block any escape to sea. Finally Gisela set off northwards on the direct road to Preston with the remainder of the troop. She was not surprised to encounter some resistance on the road but her superior numbers held sway until they had breached the Southern gate of Preston. Having entered the town, she sent a note to the Bishop demanding his surrender.

On reading Gisela’s note the Bishop laughed naively whilst thinking Drustina must have stayed in Brunbah or Chester. Consequently, he thought he still had time to consolidate his forces and keep Gisela’s modest force at bay.

The Bishop Celyn immediately panicked when he learned that the rumoured ships blocking the estuary turned out to be three Mermaid class vessels and his only alternative escape routes were firmly blocked. The roads north and east out of Preston led him only into the mountains of the Cumbrians or towards the Pennines into Mancunium or Yorvik. Both these cities were now held by Ethelred through his loyal captain, Carl the Viking. That of course was presuming he got passed Gisela’s pickets.

Amongst the Scots and Cumbrians his reputation as a thief already preceded him and he would be treated contemptuously by them if not detained and handed over to the Lioness.

Additionally, to travel such a difficult road would necessitate his travelling light. That meant converting his hoard into gold and there was insufficient gold in Preston. The Bishop would have to forego his stolen riches and he would thus have little to bribe his way to safety.

He now had only two viable options; surrender or die fighting. He cursed the Lioness as he debated his options. He concluded he had only one negotiating counter left in his locker and that was the multilingual scribe who had once professed to be a brother of the Lioness. ‘Though he was now a eunuch and brother to nobody.’ The Bishop called to one of his henchmen.

“Where is that Celtic scribe who once claimed kinship with the cursed Lioness witch?”

“Down at the granary doing as he was ordered – tallying the bags of grain and suchlike.”

“Is he still claiming to be kin?”

“Not since she came and left. I think he expected her to acknowledge him but she never once sought to find him.”

“Well bring him here anyway. If he is her brother, we might still be able to trade him for our freedom.”

The scribe was brought before the bishop and asked bluntly.

“You claimed to be a brother of the Sorceress who leads the Saxon Armies. Is it true?”

Morgaran was immediately suspicious. He already knew that several strange ships lay blocking any escape to the sea. From the descriptions, Morgaran believed them to be Mermaid type ships and quickly realised that the Bishop Celyn was contemplating a trade. His mutilated body for the bishop’s free pratique. The scribe picked his answer carefully.

“Yes, I did once make that claim. Now I’m not so sure; I thought she might have sought me out but she never once made any inquiries when she was here. Even if I saw her face, I would not know. They say she is both man and woman so she would be much changed from the young boy I left behind when we set forth to fight with the Norsemen.”

“Would she recognise you?”

“I have changed much. I was unmanned by the cursed Vikings after I was captured. My face is plumper but my muscles are wasted and soft. She might recognise me.”

“Can you rightfully claim to be her brother?”

“If she was truly the boy Drustan whom I left behind in my village, then yes, I can rightfully claim to be her brother; though how a boy can become a woman I know not!”

Bishop Celyn harrumphed irritably then declared.

“Well I can attest to her being a freak. She definitely has both male and female parts. I know her of old. If she was that boy then perhaps your old village healers got the baby’s condition wrong when it was born.”

“Possibly your grace, I know little of such things. When he was a boy he certainly built a remarkably fast and nimble craft. If I saw the craft I would recognise it, if it is the same vessel.”

The Bishop’s eyes lit up as he saw a possible way forward.

“The Bitch is certainly here in the estuary and she certainly has a strange craft under her command. If I sighted it I would know for I have seen her ship before and the others like it. I cannot leave yet however so I will have my lieutenants take you down to the north shore to look at the vessel.”

Without delay, Morgaran was tied to a saddle and led away on horseback along the north bank of the River Ribel. When he reached the estuary he immediately recognised the lines of the remarkable craft his younger brother had built. There was no doubt that the craft was the Angry Mermaid so it was a reasonable bet that the captain was his youngest sibling. He confirmed his beliefs to the Bishop’s henchmen who immediately took him back to town. There Morgaran confirmed his observations.

“Yes, the vessel is certainly the same one that my brother built.”

“Did you see the bitch aboard?”

Morgaran seethed at the bishop calling his brother/sister a bitch but he kept his counsel.

“It looked like a woman but she was too far away to identify; besides, I do not know what she has grown to look like. It’s many a year since I last saw my siblings. They were just children when I left.”

The lieutenant confirmed that it was a woman so the Bishop decided to play the hostage card. He declared his plan to his henchmen who were equally keen to make their escapes. He turned again to Morgaran.

“Tomorrow morning, at the high tide we will have the ebb behind us and we can approach her quickly so that she must make up her mind quickly. If she does not recognise you or acknowledge you or she refuses to make a trade then it’s your neck that will be forfeit. It’s her bothers’ life for our freedom. Take him away.”

Morgaran was led to the cell and locked up for the night.

Pre dawn found the Bishop pacing impatiently on the quay as last minute arrangements and adjustments were finalised and they waited for the tide to turn.

“Why so long sailor?” He demanded of the captain, who explained.

“I am waiting for the ebb to gather some momentum. Best we leave two hours after high water when the sun will be further round to the east and blinding the besiegers as they look up river. Also, the ebbing flow will carry us swiftly onto them. They will have little time to respond.”

“Are those other ships loaded as well?”

“Yes, all five of them. It will give you a chance to get amongst the Lioness’s ships before she can make out anything different.”

“Very well are there still only three besiegers?”

“Yes your grace. Our spies confirmed it less than an hour ago.”

“Very well. I will break my fast when you are ready to sail. Send a messenger when you think it is the right time to sail. This easterly wind will also help us so we will commandeer all the ships in the port and smash our way through if we have to.”
The bishop filled his belly while his lieutenants prepared then waited until the message came. When he arrived at the quay all the other ships were standing off in the river and he joined his own ship which then immediately cast off.

His plan was to approach with his faster ship behind the protective shield of other craft and hopefully smash his way through by sheer weight. He now had six other ships in the shield and all were heavy, ponderous merchant craft. They were chained together and would present as a heavy battering-ram as possible. The juggernaut of ships was being driven downstream by the combinations of the rivers’ natural flow, the ebb tide, and the easterly wind. Bishop Celyn felt confident for he had seven ships to the besieger’s three.

An hour later the ‘battering ram’ emerged out of the morning mist to confront Drustina’s siege.

At the mouth of the estuary Drustina’s three ships were patrolling the mile wide gap when the lookouts alerted her. She immediately prepared to engage but realised she had more sea-room to fight if she allowed the Bishops fleet to travel further out to sea. Once they had room to manoeuvre, she intended to pick the ships off at her leisure. Instead she was mildly surprised to see the bishop’s fleet drop anchor and await her decision.

“Do we attack or not?” Asked Hengis her faithful second in command.”

“He’s got some trick”, Drustina replied, “is that a white parley flag he’s raised.”

“Looks like it. Do we go closer?”

“Wait a bit. Let’s test his patience.”

Hengis took a turn out of their course and they dropped anchor to see what action the Bishop would take. It was not long in coming as a small boat was lowered and crossed the water between Drustina and the Bishop. Drustina recognised the oarsman as one of the Henchmen she had seen at the granary on the Preston quay. She called down to him from the rail of the Mermaid.

“I presume the white flag means the bishop wants to talk!”

The oarsman looked up and nodded as he proffered a note. Drustina took it and read the brief Latin message in the Bishop’s hand.

“The deal is simple. I release your brother to your care in exchange for my pratique.”

Drustina realised the note was deliberately brief to force her to act if only to ascertain that the Bishop did indeed hold one of her long missing brothers. She dismissed the oarsman and decided to go within hailing distance of the bishop’s ship. Fortunately The Angry mermaid was a lighter and more manoeuvrable craft than the Bishops ship. However manoeuvring under sail would be
difficult.

“We will have to ship our oars Lioness.” Hengis advised. “Manoeuvring in these narrow tidal waters will be tricky.”
Drustina nodded, she knew the Dane to be right. Without another word, her well trained crew set out the oars as Drustina explained.

“I have to get close enough to bring that bastard bishop into bowshot, my pretence is my need to identify my brother. Set the Mermaid’s bow upriver and then keep her stern to the Bishop’s ship as you let her drift backwards towards the bishop. The sternpost, rudder and tiller bar will hide my bow which I’ll keep by my side. It will only appear as though I am avoiding exposing myself to an arrow from the bishop or more likely, one of his bowmen.”

Hengis nodded and soon arranged the Mermaid accordingly. As her ship drifted slowly downstream with river and tide, Drustina stood with the sternpost covering her left side where her bow was held hidden with arrow already nocked. As soon as the two vessels were within earshot the bishop called across.

“That’s close enough. Look at this eunuch and tell me if he’s your brother.”

Drustina wanted to get just that critical bit closer in order to be almost certain of her shot. Already the tip of her arrow was pointing between the ruder and the stock while the bow was masked by the rudder stock’s height and girth. She called out.

“Does your prisoner have a scar on his right shoulder blade?”

Drustina knew that when he’d left to go to fight, her older brother bore no scars or wounds and she hoped he did not have any scars in that area. She wanted to create uncertainty and confusion to distract the bishop from realising she was getting closer.

Her question forced the Bishop to examine the eunuch’s shoulder and this briefly distracted the bishop as he grasped Morgaran’s robe. Drustina smiled a cruel self satisfied smile as she finally achieved her objective.

“Got you, you bastard!” She murmured softly so that only Hengis heard her words.

Her faithful chief mate smiled and nodded slightly.

On the other ship the Bishop tugged at Morgaran’s robe then searched for any hint of a scar. Finding none he cursed and turned again to shout to the lioness. Too late he realised that the sorceress’s ship had drifted almost on top of them and the bitch was releasing her arrow even as he drew breath to shout. Before he had time even to curse, the arrow had streaked across the gap and even grazed Morgaran’s ear before it pierced the bishop’s throat. The Bishop could not even call out a warning to his henchmen. The first that any of the Bishop’s men knew was when their leader sagged gargling to his knees.

Pandemonium immediately erupted as the untrained gangsters had no idea how to respond. Morgaran however knew exactly what to do and he flung himself over the side as the now leaderless crew descended into a panicked rabble. On the Angry mermaid the experienced and disciplined crew already knew what to do. As Drustina’s ship swept past, a cascade of well placed arrows brought a swift surrender. Drustina’s battle hardened crew were swiftly in possession of the Bishop’s ship.

Morgaran’s plunge had been seen by several men who immediately lowered the Mermaid’s jolly boat and fished the eunuch from the water. He emerged shocked and yet impressed as he fingered his bleeding ear and grinned partly with relief and partly with the
hope that this spectacularly beautiful warrior queen could yet possibly be his youngest brother. It did not seem possible.

“Dammit woman you nearly had me! Just look at this! I felt the bloody feathers as it sliced my cheek!”

Drustina stared at the plump, soft-skinned individual and truly wondered if this could be the powerful, muscular older brother she had always admired and looked up to.

“You moved. You should have stayed still until he was hit. Tell me are you truly Morgaran ap Caderyn ap Erin?”

“I am,” Morgaran croaked softly and sadly, “or I was before the Vikings did for my manhood. How is it possible that my younger brother turned into a woman?”

“I’ll go first,” Drustina replied. If you wish to prove that you are Morgaran my brother then show me the magic trick you used to tease me with when I was but a child!”

The lioness demanded this as she produced a short length of line. She knew that only her brother would know what the trick was, what he called it, and how to do it.

Grateful to be offered a chance to prove to all that he was indeed the Lioness’s brother, Morgaran took the short line and coiled it several turns before flicking his wrists and releasing the end as it slipped through the coils and formed a perfect slide knot. The released end appeared sticking out of the coils like a snake preparing to strike. As he snatched the ‘coiled snake’ the loops closed tight upon themselves to form a perfect noose to ‘kill the snake’.

It was done with all the same old speed and dexterity that had once left Drustan the boy mesmerized with admiration. She stared at the unmanned eunuch and wagged her head in despair.

“You truly are my brother and it pains me to see you reduced thus.”

Her expression softened as she stepped forward to acknowledge her brother as tears filled her eyes. Their arms embraced and they held each other for several minutes.

Hengis had never seen Drustina’s tears before and he quickly realised the depth of her emotions so he turned to his loyal crews.

“What are you bloody staring at boys? Have you never seen a woman’s tears before? There’s plenty to do! Let’s get these bloody ships crewed and sorted.

Once possession of the Bishop’s ships was completed, Drustina took stock. It was a substantial prize and fortunately nobody was better placed to give Drustina an accurate accounting of the value than her own brother, the scribe Morgaran.

The gold and silver aboard the Bishop’s ship alone would make a substantial contribution to King Ethelred’s exchequer and the other goods would make a substantial prize for Drustina’s crews. All but one of the cumbersome merchant ships were despatched under escort immediately to Wygan to relieve the shortages while the bishop’s ship and one merchantman were escorted by the Mermaid back to Preston to provide food for Carl’s troops after Drustina had confirmed her own male parts to her brother.

A grinning Gisela met with the Lioness as she docked.

“Have you captured him?” The Norse princess asked.

“He’s dead.” Drustina replied as she uncovered the bishop’s corpse for all to see. Gisela studied the corpse and nodded with satisfaction.

“Job done my lady.”

“But unfinished work I fear. There’s much injustice to put right.”

“Let me do that please my lady.” Gisela pleaded. “You return to your Saxon in Chester and savour your rewards.”

“Then let the eunuch scribe assist you. He knows most of what injustices have occurred.”

Gisela frowned suspiciously.

“Can you trust him Lioness? Let us not forget, he has worked for the thieving bishop.”

Drustina wagged her head wearily then affirmed.

“Yes I can trust him. He was once my brother before he was unmanned.”

Gisela gasped.

“By the gods! You have found him then.”

“Aye and he me, he has seem my duality and accepts now that I was once his little brother. I have told him of our sisters' fates but there is still our middle brother missing. We cannot have everything I suppose but we share a peace of sorts, at last. By the gods I’m hungry lets eat.”

The End.

~~oo000oo~~