ELEVEN
CHALLACOMBE 2023 & 640 AD; CHERITON, EXMOOR, 978 AD
Forlorn, collar turned up against the biting wind, Jake stood on top of the barrow where he had previously met the shaman. He surveyed the surrounding moorland with a sense of futility. No sign of what he sought awakened him to the realisation he was no nearer to a clearly-defined plan. In truth, he did not know where or when to enact it, let alone the finer details. As to where, he needed a traditional Exmoor sheep stell, but, since these had been long abandoned, his detailed maps were of little help. Maybe local knowledge was the solution.
Regarding when, he was more confused. He guessed that the shaman could not have been alive earlier than the seventh century because the Saxons had no foothold in Devon before that date. Any
