The Mabinogion Vol. 2 by Sir Owen Morgan Edwards and Lady Charlotte Schreiber (best thriller novels of all time txt) 📕

intention concerning me.”  So she told Geraint all that had passed.  And although he was wroth with her, he took warning, and clothed himself.  And she lighted a candle, that he might have light to do so.  “Leave there the candle,” said he, “and desire the man of the house to come here.”  Then she went, and the man of the house came to him.  “Dost thou know how much I owe thee?” asked Geraint.  “I think thou owest but little.”  “Take the eleven horses and the eleven suits of armour.”  “Heaven reward thee, Lord,” said he, “but I spent not the value of one suit of armour upon thee.”  “For that reason,” said he, “thou wilt be the richer.  And now wilt thou come to guide me out of the town?”  “I will, gladly,” said he, “and in which direction dost thou intend to go?”  “I wish to leave the town by a different way from that by which I entered it.”  So the man of the lodgings accompanied him as far as he desired.  Then he bade the maiden to go on before him; and she did so, and went straight forward, and his host returned home.  And he had only just reached his house, when, behold, the greatest tumult approached that was ever heard.  And when he looked out he saw fourscore knights in complete armour around the house, with the Earl Dwrm at their head.  “Where is the knight that was here?” said the Earl.  “By thy hand,” said he, “he went hence some time ago.”  “Wherefore, villain,” said he, “didst thou let him go without informing me?”  “My Lord, thou didst not command me to do so, else would I not have allowed him to p. 46depart.”  “What way dost thou think that he took?”  “I know not, except that he went along the high road.”  And they turned their horses’ heads that way, and seeing the tracks of the horses upon the high road, they followed.  And when the maiden beheld the dawning of the day, she looked behind her, and saw vast clouds of dust coming nearer and nearer to her.  And thereupon she became uneasy, and she thought that it was the Earl and his host coming after them.  And thereupon she beheld a knight appearing through the mist.  “By my faith,” said she, “though he should slay me, it were better for me to receive my death at his hands, than to see him killed without warning him.”  “My Lord,” she said to him, “seest thou yonder man hastening after thee, and many others with him?”  “I do see him,” said he, “and in despite of all my orders, I see that thou wilt never keep silence.”  Then he turned upon the knight, and with the first thrust he threw him down under his horse’s feet.  And as long as there remained one of the fourscore knights, he overthrew every one of them at the first onset.  And from the weakest to the strongest, they all attacked him one after the other, except the Earl: and last of all the Earl came against him also.  And he broke his lance, and then he broke a second.  But Geraint turned upon him, and struck him with his lance upon the centre of his shield, so that by that single thrust the shield was split, and all his armour broken, and he himself was brought over his horse’s crupper to the ground, and was in peril of his life.  And Geraint drew near to him; and at the noise of the trampling of his horse the Earl revived.  “Mercy, Lord,” said he to Geraint.  And Geraint granted him mercy.  But through the hardness of the ground where they p. 47had fallen, and the violence of the stroke which they had received, there was not a single knight amongst them that escaped without receiving a fall, mortally severe, and grievously painful, and desperately wounding, from the hand of Geraint.

And Geraint journeyed along the high road that was before him, and the maiden went on first; and near them they beheld a valley which was the fairest ever seen, and which had a large river running through it; and there was a bridge over the river, and the high road led to the bridge.  And above the bridge, upon the opposite side of the river, they beheld a fortified town, the fairest ever seen.  And as they approached the bridge, Geraint saw coming towards him from a thick copse a man mounted upon a large and lofty steed, even of pace and spirited though tractable.  “Ah, knight,” said Geraint, “whence comest thou?”  “I come,” said he “from the valley below us.”  “Canst thou tell me,” said Geraint, “who is the owner of this fair valley and yonder walled town?”  “I will tell thee, willingly,” said he, “Gwiffert Petit he is called by the Franks, but the Welsh call him the Little King.”  “Can I go by yonder bridge,” said Geraint, “and by the lower highway that is beneath the town?”  Said the knight, “Thou canst not go by his tower [47a] on the other side of the bridge, unless thou dost intend to combat him; because it is his custom to encounter every knight that comes upon his lands.”  “I declare to Heaven,” said Geraint, “that I will, nevertheless, pursue my journey that way.” [47b]  “If thou dost so,” said the knight, “thou wilt probably meet with shame and p. 48disgrace in reward for thy daring.” [48a]  Then Geraint proceeded along the road that led to the town, and the road brought him to a ground that was hard, and rugged, and high, and ridgy. [48b] And as he journeyed thus, he beheld a knight following him upon a war-horse, strong, and large, and proudly-stepping, and wide-hoofed, and broad-chested.  And he never saw a man of smaller stature than he who was upon the horse.  And both he and his horse were completely armed.  When he had overtaken Geraint he said to him, “Tell me, chieftain, whether it is through ignorance or through presumption that thou seekest to insult my dignity, and to infringe my rules?”  “Nay,” answered Geraint, “I knew not that this road was forbid to any.”  “Thou didst know it,” said the other; “come with me to my Court, to do me satisfaction.”  “That will I not, by my faith,” said p. 49Geraint; “I would not go even to thy Lord’s Court, excepting Arthur were thy Lord.”  “By the hand of Arthur himself,” said the knight, “I will have satisfaction of thee, or receive my overthrow at thy hands.”  And immediately they charged one another.  And a squire of his came to serve him with lances as he broke them.  And they gave each other such hard and severe strokes, that their shields lost all their colour.  But it was very difficult for Geraint to fight with him on account of his small size, for he was hardly able to get a full aim at him with all the efforts he could make. [49]  And they fought thus until their horses were brought down upon their knees; and at length Geraint threw the knight headlong to the ground; and then they fought on foot, and they gave one another blows so boldly fierce, so frequent, and so severely powerful, that their helmets were pierced, and their skullcaps were broken, and their arms were shattered, and the light of their eyes was darkened by sweat and blood.  At the last Geraint became enraged, and he called to him all his strength; and boldly angry, and swiftly resolute, and furiously determined, he lifted up his sword, and struck him on the crown of his head a blow so mortally painful, so violent, so fierce, and so penetrating, that it cut through all his head armour, and his skin, and his flesh, until it wounded the very bone, and the sword flew out of the hand of the Little King to the furthest end of the plain, and he besought Geraint that he would have mercy and compassion upon him.  “Though thou hast been neither courteous nor just,” p. 50said Geraint, “thou shalt have mercy, upon condition that thou wilt become my ally, and engage never to fight against me again, but to come to my assistance whenever thou hearest of my being in trouble.”  “This will I do, gladly, Lord,” said he.  So he pledged him his faith thereof.  “And now, Lord, come with me,” said he, “to my Court yonder, to recover from thy weariness and fatigue.”  “That will I not, by Heaven,” said he.

Then Gwiffert Petit beheld Enid where she stood, and it grieved him to see one of her noble mien appear so deeply afflicted.  And he said to Geraint, “My Lord, thou doest wrong not to take repose, and refresh thyself awhile; for, if thou meetest with any difficulty in thy present condition, it will not be easy for thee to surmount it.”  But Geraint would do no other than proceed on his journey, and he mounted his horse in pain, and all covered with blood.  And the maiden went on first, and they proceeded towards the wood which they saw before them.

And the heat of the sun was very great, and through the blood and sweat, Geraint’s armour cleaved to his flesh; and when they came into the wood, he stood under a tree, to avoid the sun’s heat; and his wounds pained him more than they had done at the time when he received them.  And the maiden stood under another tree.  And, lo! they heard the sound of horns, and a tumultuous noise, and the occasion of it was, that Arthur and his company had come down to the wood.  And while Geraint was considering which way he should go to avoid them, behold, he was espied by a foot page, who was an attendant on the Steward of the Household, and he went to the steward, and told him what kind of man he had seen in the wood.  Then the steward caused his horse to be p. 51saddled, and he took his lance and his shield, and went to the place where Geraint was.  “Ah, knight!” said he, “what dost thou here?”  “I am standing under a shady tree, to avoid the heat and the rays of the sun.”  “Wherefore is thy journey, and who art thou?”  “I seek adventures, and go where I list.”  “Indeed,” said Kai, “then come with me to see Arthur, who is here hard by.”  “That will I not, by Heaven,” said Geraint.  “Thou must needs come,” said Kai.  Then Geraint knew who he was, but Kai did not know Geraint.  And Kai attacked Geraint as best as he could.  And Geraint became wroth, and he struck him with the shaft of his lance, so that he rolled headlong to the ground.  But chastisement worse than this would he not inflict on him.

Scared and wildly Kai arose, and he mounted his horse, and went back to his lodging.  And thence he proceeded to Gwalchmai’s tent.  “Oh, Sir,” said he to Gwalchmai, “I was told by one of the attendants, that he saw in the wood above a wounded knight, having on battered armour, and if thou dost right, thou wilt go and see if this be true.”  “I care not if I do so,” said Gwalchmai.  “Take, then, thy horse, and some of thy armour,” said Kai, “for I hear that he is not over-courteous to those who approach him.”  So Gwalchmai took his spear and his shield, and mounted his horse, and came to the spot where Geraint was.  “Sir Knight,” said he, “wherefore is thy journey?”  “I journey for my own pleasure, and to seek the adventures of the world.”  “Wilt thou tell me who thou art, or wilt thou come and visit Arthur, who