The basement below Low Rowan Hall in Pen Crags village was illuminated by the glow from two dozen tallow lamps in their niches. In their soft light the true nature of the cavernous space could be seen. The walls were composed of roughly-hewn stone, evidence that the place had been cut from the living rock. The floor was similar, but worn smooth over many centuries by the passage of feet. The impression a stranger might receive was that the basement belonged to a time long before the present mansion was built.
Owain, the tall man who had spoken to the archaeologists, stood before the stone altar at the eastern end of the basement. His three younger brothers, Bryn, Dewi and Huw, stood silently behind him. The altar stone and its four supporting pillars were clearly defined in the light of n
