The Ark of Dun Ruah, Book 1 (14 page)

After Malachy and Coleman had left the island, Browdan sent his friend the Tawny Owl as a messenger to the birds of the forest. Soon the news of the rise against Red Beak spread to every corner of the island. The birds came and held a great conference with him on the cliff edge near the sea caves. Eagles, owls, hawks and all the smaller birds pledged to band together with the cave dwellers to overthrow Red Beak and his army. They left to spread the word to all the cave villages on the island.

All through the night a procession of young men and women left their caves on the coast and by the lake. They walked to Coracle carrying with them whatever weapons and tools they could find. Arriving in droves to the little town, they sang ancient battle songs.

We shall eat our bread to the full,

And dwell in our land in safety.

We will live in peace and lie down,

And none will make us afraid.

We will rid the land of evil beasts.

We will chase our enemies down.

They will fall before us in their thousands.

We will put ten thousand to flight.

Browdan set up his headquarters in the old town hall in the centre of the village. The people moved in to repossess the houses in the town. They restored the roofs and walls and strengthened the windows and doorways to make them into impregnable fortresses. That day the villagers worked openly for the first time since Red Beak's reign of terror began. They cut down wood from nearby forests and dragged it into the village for the making of furniture and tools. They carried great stones into the town from the barren lands and used them for building purposes. They laboured long hours, rebuilding their homes and their village. The ironmonger lit up his old furnace to forge weapons, helmets and shields. The baker cleaned up his ovens and baked fruit and potato bread for the workers.

The following day, Red Beak's scouts started circling the town. They kept a distant watch on what the local people were doing but they didn't attack. Everyone had begun to relax and they were making great strides in restoring their village. They went about their work with new confidence, openly laughing and singing for the first time in five long years.

Suddenly, the bell on the town hall rang out. The people flocked to its doors. There stood Browdan with Cian, the chief of the Lake People, Niamh and Grinwick were at his side.

They all waited for Browdan to speak.

CHAPTER 22

Ring of Fire

The islanders and the freebirds had responded to the toll of the bell. They flocked to listen to what Browdan had to say. Simon, Kerry and the swiftails stood with them to offer their support.

‘Red Beak has gathered together a great army of eagles,' said Browdan. ‘Grinwick has just got word that they are about to attack our town and to crush us once and for all. Unfortunately, we are not ready to face them yet. We have no battle strategy and not enough weapons. So the only thing we can do is lock ourselves into our homes and defend the work we've done already as best we can. That's unless someone here has a plan.'

‘I have,' shouted Simon. ‘I've got a plan.'

‘Speak up then if you do,' said Browdan.

‘We can use fire to frighten the eagles off,' said Simon stepping forward. ‘With the help of the people of this town I can make enough fire to terrify the wits out of those eagles. Red Beak's flocks are afraid of fire. I've seen with my own eyes how they react to it. If they see that we are not afraid of them they will lose confidence. Let's show them that we won't be beaten.'

Some of the villagers shouted their approval.

‘You haven't seen what those eagles are capable of, Simon,' said Browdan.

‘Yes I have,' replied Simon. ‘When I was captured and brought before Red Beak's throne in the Abbey, I confronted them with fire. They went crazy with fear. And when they chased us to the riverbank near the forest I threw fire at them again. It worked. They screamed with terror and the whole flock fled back to the Abbey. I know we can do this.'

‘But you have only dealt with them in small numbers up to now, Simon,' said Cian. ‘How can you possibly make the fire big enough to scare an entire army?'

‘We can build a ring of fire around this entire town. Fire spreads rapidly so it won't take very long to get it going. First we'll send people out in every direction armed with my matches, and with fuel and explosives. We'll build a circle of fires dotted around the edges of the town. Then we'll link them together to form a huge unbroken ring.'

‘But where are we going to get all the explosives?'

‘I have worked with pyrotechnics for years. And since I've arrived on the island I've been collecting minerals from the underground rock. I've never seen such a wealth of raw material for making explosives. And I have gathered enough material by now to blow Red Beak off the planet. We'll make that ring of fire so hot and dangerous that Red Beak won't come back for a long time.'

‘I think we should give Simon a chance,' interrupted Grinwick. ‘What have we got to lose? We can always resort to Browdan's plan and run for cover if it doesn't work.'

‘Let's put it to a vote,' said Browdan. ‘All in favour of Simon's plan shout now.'

With a great roar the entire village shouted their support for Simon's plan.

‘It looks like we're with you, Simon,' said Browdan. ‘But the eagles could be on their way. How fast can you build this ring of fire?'

‘Well, how much time have we got before they get here?'

‘They were swarming over the Abbey preparing to leave when I left there,' said Grinwick. ‘They could be here within the hour.'

‘We can do it if everyone pitches in,' said Simon. ‘Listen to the plan.'

Simon stood beside Browdan giving orders to the hundreds of men and women who came forward to volunteer for the various tasks involved.

Cian led a band of villagers to the edge of the town to gather firewood from the forest. Browdan built an enormous bonfire in the square in front of the town hall. The people brought torches to the bonfire and set them alight. They used the torches to light more bonfires in the streets and at the edge of the town. Within minutes a circle of small fires were dotted close together around the perimeter of the town.

During his few days in the underground cave village, Simon had dug out a substantial store of salt and iron oxide from the rock to use as ingredients for making explosives. He enlisted the help of a team of volunteers to make batches of simple firearms and fireworks. They swung into action and distributed the explosives among the villagers for use when the signal was given. Browdan sent another team to the shipwrecks to collect some of the remaining munitions on board.

Within the hour Red Beak's eagles were circling over the town. Company after company arrived, darkening the sky with their outstretched wings. Simon's action plan was ready to roll out. Browdan's volunteer army awaited the signal.

‘Launch the flare,' Browdan ordered.

Simon launched a white flare from the old cannon at the town hall which rocketed straight into the eagles' midst. It exploded with a mighty crack, scattering the eagles from left to right. At this signal, the villagers detonated their missiles and quickly retreated under cover. Simon's first range of fireworks shot up into the heavens and burst into flaming showers followed by loud thunderclaps. Hundreds of eagles fled across the sky, fanning the flames with their wings. The flames grew higher, scorching their tails and burning their feathers.

Screaming with fright and pain, the eagle flocks fled from their position above the centre of the town. They flew to the outskirts where the ring of bonfires lay. Here Browdan's allies, the freebirds, lay waiting, hidden in the scrublands surrounding the town. They were armed with small grenades. At the signal they flew high up to the sky and dropped the grenades into the outlying fires. The explosions rocked the landscape and fires leaped high into the air. Spreading rapidly, the flames joined to form an unbroken circle of fire as a shield around the town. A fierce heat rose from the ring of fire high up into the air, scorching the great birds. Red Beak and his generals screeched orders to their forces to retreat. His entire army flew eastwards with shrill screams. Crestfallen, they returned to the Abbey. Red Beak had lost his first battle.

That evening Browdan met with Simon, Kerry and Niamh, the leaders of the cave settlements and the freebirds of the island. ‘It's time for us to lead an attack on the Abbey,' he said. ‘Have I got your support?'

There was full agreement among all the parties.

‘We're going to need more ammunition to attack the Abbey,' said Simon.

‘I'll send a team of volunteers into the underground tunnels to dig out more minerals for you,' said Cian. ‘Just tell us what you need.'

‘And I'll send another team onto the shipwrecks to salvage the remaining explosives,' said Browdan.

Later in the day Browdan called a public meeting at the town hall. Hundreds of islanders arrived to volunteer their support.

‘We plan to march on the Abbey tomorrow,' Browdan announced to the new recruits. ‘The time has come to show our strength against Red Beak's forces. We have decided to call ourselves the White Army.'

The crowds cheered.

‘Go and find anything you can to use as armour and weapons to take with you on the march,' he ordered. ‘Cover your heads and shoulders with helmets and shields. And may God go before us!'

‘May God go before us,' roared the people.

By nightfall over a thousand people had already arrived in Coracle to join the uprising against Red Beak. The word spread and hundreds more arrived during the night from the sea caves and the hill caves. The White Army grew.

Simon and his assistants worked throughout the night creating a firearms factory inside the town hall. He had already trained up a team of competent technicians to construct and manufacture large batches of smoke bombs, exploding missiles, grenades and thunder rockets.

Kerry and the villagers made brightly-coloured banners, painted with giant orange flames, to frighten the eagle army. They painted their faces with warpaint made from coloured chalks from the sea cliffs. Every scrap of old metal was used to weld helmets, swords and shields together. The swiftails joined the freebirds as messengers. They sent word to the free eagles and other creatures on the island in an effort to persuade them to join the White Army.

Just after dawn flocks of Red Beak's eagles started to circle the town of Coracle once again. This was a setback for Brow-dan. He sent for the freebirds and the leaders. They met in the town hall to make fresh plans.

‘What are those eagles doing back here already?' said Browdan. ‘I thought they would stay away for longer than this after the scorching they got yesterday.'

As he spoke the Tawny Owl and the freebirds arrived to join them in the town hall. Their spies had just informed them of the latest news about Red Beak.

‘Red Beak has left the Abbey,' said the Tawny Owl. ‘It is completely deserted. My sources tell me that he has set up camp in Cooley House.'

‘Oh no!' cried Niamh. ‘How could he do this?'

‘Where is Cooley House?' Simon asked.

‘It was once our family home,' said Browdan. ‘It was where we lived as child ren with our parents. The house lies about a mile outside the village. Niamh and I have always hoped that one day we would return there and restore our old home.'

‘We've just been informed that the eagles are using it as a base from which they plan to attack the town,' said the Tawny Owl. ‘Now their forces are arriving in convoys and surrounding the outskirts of the Coracle. My spies in Red Beak's camp have told me they plan to occupy the outlying fields and forests and lay siege to us.'

‘That means we can't go ahead with our plan to march on the Abbey,' said Cian. ‘Doing so would invite attack from both Cooley House and the Abbey. We will have to remain close to the confines of the town.'

‘Then we will surprise them by marching on Red Beak's camp in Cooley House,' said Browdan. ‘It is much closer than the Abbey and we know it well. But we must move quickly. There is nothing like a surprise attack.'

‘Yes,' agreed Simon, ‘and it won't be long before those eagle scouts have us completely surrounded. We've got to go now!'

‘Go and gather the White Army together,' commanded Browdan.