Two held newly hefted pole,
swinging black bag slung below.
Quickly splashed across a stream
toward hill top fortress site of
first last stand against the Romans.
Behind scampered, full scurry running,
a very worried looking pigling:
‘Can you please slow down your moving!
Little trotters already tiring!’
Bwrs, big body mass of fat and muscle –
capable holding any situation –
strode stern alone across the landscape.
Eighth pace circled, clocked Cai’s approach:
‘Hang on, lads, hold it there. Cai’s back.
Blimey, that kid can run some.’
Gwair, lead pole, cheeky grinned:
‘It’s the way I’ve trained him.’
Bwrs treated him to a level eye: ‘Look,
there’s method in this madness; make sure
it looks like we’ve carried it some way,
in case his superbus gets suspicious.
Splash some mud and muck on the bag, man.’
From inside the bag, a boy’s voice:
‘Please, sirs — don’t you hurt me!’
Bwrs snorted, scratched beard, scowled,
‘Damn shape shifter magic.’
Gave the bag a boot scrape,
‘I’m in character, so hush now.’
Little pigling reached the stream
swollen with first fall rains;
rapid paced torrent raged!
‘Oh, no! I can’t cross this!’
Tears sparked, tiny chin frowned.
He wasn’t going to make it!
Bwrs stepped back, ‘C’m’ere bach.’
Crooked him gentle in his elbow,
bore him like a little babe for
rest the way on up the Rock-Fort.
Cai arrived, slowed down, smiled:
‘OK signals from all stations!’
Bwrs nodded, held out hand:
‘Satchel, please, young soldier.
Good to see you’re properly dressed;
awesome Fin-ish to that weapon.
Tag Gwair out for a bit, we’re
slipping behind our schedule.’
Bedwyr clasped both hands to pole, grinned:
‘You’ve missed all the heavy lifting, mate.’
Cai, wind up blind, protested:
‘I’ve done loads of heavy lifting!’
Gwair chuckled, passed pole to Cai;
pole and black bag promptly vanished.
Resumed march to Dinas base, where
more camps and canopies clumped.
Should probably point out right now
that Cai has certain magic powers:
can carry heavy loads invisibly –
dead handy for in dead of night
filching fortress build materials.
Satchel contents out, two stood,
flipped rapid through the tablets,
perked up little pigling watched.
Gwair smiled, Bwrs’s lips slight twitched:
‘All seems satisfactory.’