Kronos Heraclius dufiarchen dindrienfiardu - alfiov drichen dindufiar - kwayulka (Year of Heraclius Six hundred and thirty-nine - day three hundred and sixty - morning)

'There is talk of a man who is determined to raise an army against Conacht,' Emeric Dundas said, holding a spear with a fish on it over the fire.

'Where would we find such a man?'

'On the mainland. He is a great warrior. He sometimes speaks of strange things, which nobody understands, but he fights well enough and the men seem eager to follow him into battle. He has spent some time in the company of the bronzeskins in Pekeesh. He fought for a while with Marcellus of Barbessel.'

'I have heard of him,' Cormac said. 'But how do we get to the mainland?'

'Maybe we do not. If Fate decrees that we do not get to the mainland, then that is the way it shall be.'

'Fate? You believe in Fate, rather than in the Controllers?'

'The Controllers are just unscrupulous men. They control nothing!'

'I am not sure you are right.'

'You are entitled to your belief, young Cormac.'

'But why did you mention the man? And what is his name? Do you really think there is a chance we might be able to find him and join his army?'

'The last I heard he was coming this way,' Emeric Dundas said with a smile. 'He would cross from Turbessel, landing at Kressan.'

'The cliffs are sheer there.'

'There are ways of scaling cliffs.'

'Then what are we waiting for?'

'You are forgetting that we are stranded on the wrong side of the channel,' Emeric Dundas reminded him.

'There must be a way! Could we not repair this boat?'

'It would take a long time.'

'But then we could sail around the headland to Kressan, and join him. Who is he? What is his name?'

'His name is Radulf.'

'He is Barbesselian?'

'He comes originally from Barbessel, yes. He was taken by Marcellus as a hostage and  spent a long time in the company of the Warikeewa tribe. My knowledge of him is sketchy, but I understand that he took a Warikeewa for his woman.'

'And yet he left Pekeesh to fight against Connacht.'

'That is the way I understand it.'

'We should repair the boat,' Cormac said emphatically. 'We must be in Kressan when he lands with his army. He will need people who know the lie of the land here.'

Emeric Dundas nodded thoughtfully. The youth was right. They set about collecting material with which to repair the boat, and by midsun had more or less replaced most of the damaged hull. During the next few hours they cut and placed a new mast and used sacking and clothing to repair the sails. By the time the larger of the two moons of Heraklion appeared over the furthest mountains, the boat was ready to set sail, and this they did, pushing off from the promontory into a caml, placid sea, illuminated by both moons and the dying rays from the sun.