Fixing up a litter for Bauduin, from a couple of spears and some spare clothes, and with Daffyd leading the horse, the party moves off to Llanidloes.
He asks your business in Llanidloes and also asks about the two prisoners tied up and being led along.
Caradoc looks around at Raymond, Herluin and Arnaud expecting for one of them to answer the bailiff's questions.
Herluin addresses the Llanidloes town bailiff.
"We were travelling west on a public road and these ruffians assaulted us. We captured the ones that didn't run away or die. Do you often have robbers accost travellers here, hmm?"Walter the Bailiff replies curtly,
"No, my lord, we do not have trouble with robbers hereabouts. If you would be so good as to accompany me to the manor house I will summon someone to take charge of your captives and send for the coroner from Hereford to take charge of the matter."[As you all know where there is a death of any sort, other than a natural one, the county coroner must hold an inquest to determine the cause and arrange for a trial should murder or unlawful death be deemed to have happened.]
He sends a boy off to the fields with an order to summon John-by-the-Gate and Will the Smith to the manor house.
You accompany Walter to a large stone-built manor house surrounded by a palisade and situated near the church whereupon he summons some boys at the top of his voice;
"Come and take charge of the lords horses".A bunch of lads arrive and take hold of the bridles of your animals ready to lead them off to the stables.
As it is now close to midday the bailiff calls for bread, cheese and meat and jugs of ale to be served. He tells one of the serving women to ask old Sarah to come to the manor to tend an injured man. He arranges for a pallet and a straw filled mattress to accomodate Bauduin, who is still conscious but moans whenever he is jarred or moved roughly.
Your captives remain trussed up standing in the yard guarded by John and Will who arrived while your mounts were being led away.
Asking you to be seated at the long table in the main hall of the manor house Walter asks you to tell your tale. All of you seat yourselves in obvious order of preference while Daffyd takes a slab of bread and some cheese to the end of the table slightly apart from the rest of the group.
"Good Sirs, tell me how you came to be travelling here and what took place on the road that I might send word to the coroner and summon him to take charge of this matter."As the party moves through the town Arnaud looks for clues about the size of the local constabulary/militia. He is *very* interested in how the group of ambushers was tipped to the party's itinerary.
The town is small and there is probably only the mandated number of members of the local watch. Usually some 10 or 12 people are told off to keep watch during the hours of darkness in most villages and towns. This would be a frankpledge or tithing - the legal grouping of all unfree male members of a village or town over 12 years of age. The 10 or 12 members of a frankpledge would be responsible for the behaviour of the individual members and they would serve as pledges for the appearance of other members of their frankpledge in court etc.
A town like Llanidloes would probably have around 5-600 people in 120 families arranged in 15 or 16 frankpledges.
Herluin addresses the bailiff,
"We were ambushed about a mile outside of town. The rogues made some effort to prepare by dropping a tree across the path. They opened fire with arrows. We did not tolerate this insolence and routed the attackers. The two prisoners are those we captured. Your local priest will likely want to bury the rest."The bailiff replies,"We have no business in Llanidloes, we travel west. We may spend a day or two here while poor Bauduin recovers."
"It seems that the two outside are destined for the coroners court to testify whether they and their fellows attacked your party and the slain were killed in defence of your lives. After that 12 of the freemen of the hundred of Llanidloes will sit as a jury and pronounce verdict on the matter."he continues,
"As they are landless men it will not be easy to find any to stand pledge for them and I'm sure your lordship's friends will stand pledge for you making it a clear case of robbery on the King's highway. In these cases your word sworn on the holy relics will surely hang these men and their bodies will be swinging on the crossroads gibbet ere the month is out."The party sets too and eats with gusto the good solid food placed in front of them."Eat up my lords, I will have the stable boys take good care of your mounts and see you fed and sheltered here in the manor house until the coroner arrives. I will send a man this very day to seek him at Hereford and he will surely be here by Monday."
Several loaves, a ham, a good piece of cold beef and plenty of cheese are washed down with plenty of ale by those party members able to enjoy it. Bauduin, laying on his pallet at the side of the room, groans occasionally as he moves aggravating the arrows in his wounds, but this fails to distract the party from the meal. However some of you notice that perhaps Daffyd isn't tucking with as much vigour as he displayed at the Cottage Inn at Montgomery.
While you are eating an old woman arrives and the bailiff greets her as Goodmother Sarah, showing her Bauduin. She gathers her skirts and kneels beside the wounded man, spreading open a bundle she carried with her.
Glancing over you see that Goodmother Sarah appears to be some sort of local healer as she is opening pots of foul smelling unguents - the stench is almost enough to put everyone off their food. Unwinding the bandages, tutting and muttering, she sets to repairing the wounds in Bauduin's thigh and chest.
Daffyd notices that she seem to be muttering charms and cantrips over Bauduin as she works. After one such rhyme Bauduin's pain is greatly eased and propped up on a cushion he sees her deftly remove the arrow head from his thigh and as she rubs a particularly vile smelling salve over the gash the ragged edges of the wound start drawing together and closing over. Working swiftly the old woman applied more of the same salve to his chest wound after drawing forth the broken shaft and arrow head. Applying fresh bandages she sings softly and Bauduin sleeps while her healing skills do their work.
Standing up and brushing off her skirts she ask if any other man needs tending. Raymond has a rent in his mail and a slight wound and bruising to his ribs from a spear thrust. Herluin has slight bruising from the arrow that failed to penetrate his hauberk.
Herluin asks if there is anyone who can help him care for his wounded horse and Walter laughs and responds that Goodmother Sarah is the best horse healer in the hundred as well as being the best hereabouts at healing all manner of human ills.
"Sometimes", he says," we think that she has the blood of the Tylwyth Teg to thank for her skills".Eyes glittering with a sudden power Goodmother Sarah hisses at him,
"Hush, you will give the lords cause to think me tainted with the Old Religion and likely to have the friar name me heretic and put torch to the faggots".Suddenly afraid, and much less jovial, Walter turns to Herluin and says,
"My lord, I was but jesting at the expense of Goodmother Sarah, think nothing of a foolish man's words".Finishing up the food and ale the group ponders what to do next while Walter keeps an eye on Goodmother Sarah as she tends to Bauduin, calling over one of the serving girls to mop his brow with a damp cloth.