XXXVIIIAs they rode on, Bedwyr asked Artos whether he would gather Medrawt’s men from Caer Leon. The Count shook his head. “I am not sure of them now,” he said. “Better to attack with a small force that one trusts than a big one that may twist in one’s grip, like an ill-balanced sword.”
Some miles outside Caerwent, a man waited for them in the roadway, holding up a long strip of white cloth.
Bedwyr said, “I know that man. He stands behind Votiporix in council and carries hidden knives.”
Almost immediately the man called out to them, “Hail, Artos! I come as the herald of the Western Kings. Is it peace with me?”
Now they were almost upon him and Artos answered, “Why not, friend? We are not at war with the west, are we? But why do the kings, my brothers, send a herald to me?”
The man whe
