"No one paid us any heed at all," Alan told them. "Why would they? We were just two humble folk attending the market, ye ken?"

"Well and good," said Bran. "So now, what did you discover?"

"It is true the town is full of Ffreinc," began Alan, "but they trust their numbers a little too much, it seems to me." He went on to explain that the soldiers were everywhere to be seen-at the entrance to the town square, before the abbey gate, clustered around the guardhouse tower-but almost to a man they appeared bored and lax. "You can see those fellas idling here and there, dicin' and drinkin' and what-all. They swagger around like little emperors all, and most of them don't carry weapons-maybe a dagger only."

"No doubt they know where to find a ready blade smart enough when pressed to it," observed Iwan.

"Oh, no doubt," agreed Alan readily. "But I'm just saying what I saw."

"What about the sheriff?" asked Will. "Did you see that rat-faced spoiler?"

"I did not," answered Alan. "Neither hide nor hair. Plenty of soldiers though, as I say."

"You found where they keep the supplies?" asked Bran.

"We did, Lord," answered Alan. Looking to Noin, he nodded. "Noin here did that easy as please and be thanked."

"I went to the church when they rang the bell for the midday mass," Noin reported. "There were but a few townsfolk and a merchant or two, so I knelt in the back and waited for the service to finish. Then I followed the monks to the abbey, pretending that I was hungry and in need of food for myself and my poor starving children three."

"You told them that?" said Scarlet, chagrined at the barest suggestion that he was no fit provider for his family.

"It was only pretence," she said lightly. "But I have been pared near enough to the bone to know how it feels. To their credit the priests took pity on me and let me inside the abbey walls. I was made to wait in the yard while they fetched a few provisions."

"And you saw where these were kept?" said Siarles.

"Oh, aye-made sure of it. There is a granary behind the bishop's house. It looks new to me-wattled and thatched like a barn, but smaller."

"They brought you food from these stores?" asked Tuck. "You saw this?"

"Aye, they did-brought me some grain and a rind of salt pork," Noin told him, "and a handful of dried beans. There was plenty more whence that came, believe me."

"There must be," mused Iwan, "if they are about giving away food to needy Cymry."

"At least," suggested Siarles, "they are not over-worried about running out of provisions anytime soon."

"They will be running out sooner than they know," said Bran. "What else?"

The raiding party listened to all that Alan and Noin had to say about the troops and stores. When they finished, Bran praised their good service and sent them on their way back to Cel Craidd, saying, "Tell the others we're going ahead with the raid. If all goes well, we will return before dawn."

So Alan and Noin continued on their way, and the raiding party settled down to wait, watching a pale blue velvet dusk settle over the Vale of Elfael below. The stars winked on one by one, and the raiders sat and talked, their voices a low murmur barely audible above the liquid splash of the nearby stream.

It is so beautiful, thought Tuck, so peaceful. "Ach, fy enaid," he sighed.

"Second thoughts, Friar?" asked Siarles, sliding down beside him.

"Never that, boyo," replied Tuck. "But it does seem a very shame to violate such tranquillity, does it not?"

"Perhaps, but it will be far more tranquil when the Ffreinc are gone, Friar," answered Siarles. "Think of that."

"I pray that it is so." Tuck sighed again. "It is a beautiful valley, though."

They talked a little while, and then Tuck closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep, to be awakened sometime later by Siarles jostling his shoulder. "Time to be about the devil's business, Friar."

Regaining their saddles, the party rode down into the vale, circling around to the north of the town and the abbey fields. They came to the edge of a bean field which lay just beyond the stone walls of the monastery Abbot Hugo had erected. "If I heard it right, the abbot's storehouse is just the other side of that wall," Iwan pointed out. The wall, like the abbey and town behind it, was an indistinct mass, black against the deeper, featureless blackness of a moonless night.

"Owain and Rhoddi," said Bran, "go and rouse the others. Bring them here-and for the love of God and all the angels, tell everyone to keep quiet." The two warriors turned and rode for the forest's edge north of town. As soon as they had gone, Bran said, "Tuck, you will stay with the horses and keep order outside the walls. Tomas and Scarlet-go with Iwan. Siarles, you come with me. Once over the wall, meet at the storehouse." The old sly smile played on his lips as he said, "Time for Rhi Bran y Hud to fly."

The raiders urged their mounts forward across the leafy field, now black beneath the hooves of their horses. A few paces from the wall, they stopped and dismounted. "God with you," whispered Tuck as they hefted first one man and then the next up onto the top of the abbey wall. When the last raider disappeared, the friar turned to look for Rhoddi and Owain, but could see nothing in the darkness.

He waited, gazing wide-eyed into the darkness and listening for any stray sounds from the other side of the wall, but saw nothing and heard only the sound of the horses breathing and, once in a while, chafing the ground with an idle hoof. After a time, there came a whispered hiss from somewhere above his head. "Ssssst!" Once, and then again. "Ssssst!"

"Here!" whispered Tuck. "This way-to your right."

"Get ready," said the voice. It was Siarles kneeling atop the wall. "We'll send over the grain sacks first. Ready?"

"I'm the only one here," Tuck told him.

"Where is everyone?"

"They're here," came the reply as Rhoddi appeared silent as a ghost out of the darkness. To his unseen companions, he said, "Owain, line 'em up behind me. Keep out of the way, and stay alert."

"How many are with you?" Siarles called down softly.

"Ten," answered Owain "We're ready, so heave away."

A moment later another figure joined Siarles on the wall. There was a dry scraping sound followed by a thick thud as the first sack hit the ground at the base of the wall. Three more followed in quick succession. "Get 'em up," whispered Siarles.

Fumbling in the darkness, the Cymry from the surrounding settlements jostled the bulging sacks of grain onto the shoulders of three of their number, who disappeared into the darkness. "Ready," Rhoddi called quietly.

There followed a pause, and then, without warning, a large, weighty object thudded to the ground. "What was that?" wondered Tuck, mostly to himself. Four more objects were sent over the wall in quick succession, followed by numerous smaller bundles dropped over the wall to form a growing heap on the ground.

"Clear it out," whispered Siarles.

"You heard him, men," said Owain. Again, the waiting Cymry leapt forward and fell upon the bundles, sacks, and casks that had been tossed over the wall. The process was repeated two more times, and each time there were fewer Cymry left to carry the supplies away. Finally, Siarles reappeared atop the wall and said, "There's people stirring in the abbey. I'm coming over." Squatting down, he turned, grabbed an edge, and lowered himself lengthwise down the face of the wall.

"The others are clean away," Tuck told him. "I've got the horses ready."

"We best stir ourselves and get this lot loaded, too," Siarles said. "Bring 'em up, and let's have at it."

The two of them began piling the goods onto the carriers attached to the saddles of the horses. One by one, the remaining raiders joined Tuck and Siarles outside the wall; Bran and Iwan were the last, and all made short work of toting the bundles and casks to the waiting horses. The back-and-forth continued until from somewhere beyond the wall a bell sounded and the raiders halted. The bell tolled three times. "It's Lauds," said Tuck. "They'll be going to the chapel for prayer."