Chapter 1
The year of the Isles is 1029, and eighty years had passed since Laird Finn Sionnach had been disgraced from his Nimrod title and forced from the only home he had ever known, from the Pictish Kingdom of Fortriu. He had finally put his troubled past behind himself; with help from Adair, he had finally tore the last few thorns Lillian had left latched into him, and now, he felt she no longer had any power left over him. He didn’t know where she was, and he had no desire to learn such information.
The disgraced Nimrod, similar to others in his predicament, set out into the Isles to seek a living as a monster hunter for hire, with few other options left for a feared mutated man such as himself. He rode on his brown mare as the constant light drizzle of the spring showers soaked him through. He watched as his hair slowly more and more covered his eyes, as the wet hair stuck to his face. He clenched his jaw in frustration; he was beginning to miss his warm bed at the Broch.
He hadn’t visited his home in almost a decade; he wondered how Adair, Keir and Wystan were. How they were all coping with the new arrival of the young Nimrod Drew. Recently disgraced, Finn found him annoyingly immature, as he believed Drew created much unnecessary drama in the Broch. So much so that it finally gave Finn the push he needed to leave the Broch and make a living for himself again, giving him a purpose.
Finn looked at the grey sky, seeing no sign of the showers ending anytime soon. He gave a small grunt pulling his wet silver hair from his face. He sighed, looking around at the flat landscape, seeing nothing but ploughed fields for miles; it made him uncomfortable. He longed for the mountains, the rugged terrain and pops of colour in the heather of the north.
He frowned, narrowing his eyes as the warm spring rain began to beat at him harder. Although he would never admit it, he felt
home-sick for the Broch. He had had enough of the south of the
Isles, the weather, the people, and the food. He just wanted to feel some comfort he recognised. He knew after one more contract, no matter the payment, he would travel home for winter, if only to see Adair, Keir and Wystan again.
In the distance, through the misty light rain, Finn saw the faint lights of a town. Finn leaned forward and patted his horse on the back of her neck. “Fancy getting out of this rain for a while, huh, Uisge-Beatha?” The horse nodded with a short snort as if agreeing with him. He gave a small smile watching as they drew closer to the town. “It’s agreed. We shall stop at the town up ahead and get out of this bualadh craigeann fual rain!”
The closer he rode towards the settlement, he saw a strange tall building made from flint and stone; he looked at it curiously, seeing the stained-glass windows seemingly displaying some type of storytelling of a tale he did not know. A cross was at the top of the tower of the strange rectangular-shaped building. Again, its placement seemed important, but Finn had no idea what the building was or what it was used for. He looked around for a sign and stood on a post to the entrance of the village; carved into a wooden plaque was the name ‘Blythburgh’. “So, Blythburugh. Let’s hope it brings us some coin.” Finn whispered to himself.
Only a few paces and Finn found a coaching inn; jumping off of Uisge-Beatha, he handed the reins to the stable boy, unloaded what he needed and made his way into the tavern, seeking a hot meal, a bed and most importantly, a strong ale. As soon as Finn opened the door to the tavern, the place instantly fell silent, and everyone who sat inside stared at him. Finn sighed, “air ais Sassenach!” He hissed under his breath. Finn chose to ignore the stares and walked straight toward the bar.
“What can I do you for, stranger?” His Anglian accent was so thick that Finn had trouble understanding what he said, even if it was in the common Isles tongue. “I need a room for the night. Do you have any available?” The barkeep nodded, and slowly Finn began
to hear the social chit-chat of drunkards again as the customers of
the tavern grew more comfortable with his presents. “Yeah, yeah,
yeah. We do. I see your horse is around back. You want a meal as well?” Finn nodded with a small smile, ‘finally! Some unfeared hospitality.’ He thought to himself. “Anything with meat will do, and the strongest ale you have, how much will that be?”
Finn watched as the barkeep’s eyes rolled back as he counted using his fingers. “Say ten coin.”
“TEN!” Finn shouted at him, outraged. The barkeep backed away from Finn, intimidated by his rage. Quickly again, the customer’s voices behind him began to lower. Finn looked over his shoulder, seeing some of the more inebriated men were looking for a fight. He tightened his jaw; he knew he could kill everyone in that tavern before they even managed to lift a finger against him, but he wasn’t looking for trouble. He just wanted a meal and a bed.
He looked into his purse. He had plenty of coin, but he didn’t want to waste it on things such as this. Finn sighed, pulling ten coins from his purse and placing the stack in front of the barkeep. “Fine, ten coin. But I want unlimited refills of your ale.” The barkeep nodded nervously. “Of course. Sit down. I’ll bring you a flagon and pie.” Finn nodded and made his way to an empty table close to the fire, removing as much of his wet clothing as possible. Eventually, he sat down with a heavy sigh, resting his aching body.
Finn rested his eyes, but it did not take long before the barkeep laid a flagon of ale and a pie in front of him. “Enjoy!” The barkeep chirped at him. Finn nodded and was quick to guzzle down the ale. However, as he lowered his flagon and sat it back on the table, he saw a man with dark hair and dark eyes who had boldly sat in front of him. Finn upturned his lips at the young man, who stared at him silently. “I am not looking for company, lad; find yourself another table,” Finn said bluntly, taking a bite of his pie; he looked down at it, surprised. It tasted better than it looked.
“You’re one of those Nimrods, aren’t you, mister?” Finn was in no mood for the morbid curiosity of the young. He just wanted his meal in peace. “See this scar?” Finn said, tracing its length across his face. The young man nodded as if fascinated. “It means I have been disgraced from my title. I am dangerous, and you should keep
your distance from the likes of us.”
“But you roam from town to town slaying monsters; you can’t be all bad!” Finn laughed, shaking his head.
“You think we do it for the people? That we are noble? We need coin just like anyone else! It’s just a job.”
“I think you are good.” Finn leaned closer to the young man, making him feel slightly intimidated. “Look into these mutated eyes and say that again.” The young man gulped nervously.
“Well, plenty of men in here are looking for a fight. They made it known to you as soon as you walked in, but you didn’t rise to it. You remained calm and showed no violence, which must mean you are one of the good ones.” He said hopefully.
Finn rolled his eyes with a sigh; he hated being feared but also hated being sympathised with. “Look, lad! Is there something you want? I just want to eat my meal in peace and sleep.”
“Of course, sorry, yes! Well, we have a problem with a black dog.”
“Aye, don’t we all,” Finn grumbled, looking about the room, catching the eye of another young person, fascinated by the macabre, only this time it was a woman. He shot her a cheeky smile before looking back at the young man before him. “But this is no ordinary black dog, sir! It is a huge, ghostly dog with magical powers. It haunts our church and its graveyard at night!”
“Simple solution, do not visit your graveyard at night, and no one will be harmed,” Finn said, bemused. The young man looked at him more desperately, his red cheeks getting redder by the minute in his frustration. “Please, sir, you must help us!”
Finn sighed, leaning back in his chair with the flagon to his lips, darting his eyes from the woman and the young man in front of him. “Is it just one dog or multiple?”
“Just one, sir. We call it the Black Shuck. A hellish beast it is! It has already killed several people in the church!” Finn looked away in thought, “so it can not be a type of Barghest….” He whispered to himself. He looked back to see the desperate look on the young man’s face. “Fine, come back tomorrow morning with my fee, and I will see what I can do.”
“Fee?” The young man asked, confused. Finn looked at him seriously, “I do not work for free.”
“But I don’t have much coin!”
“Not my problem. If your village wants to be free of this creature, you are going to have to pay me. Remember, tomorrow morning, or I will leave.” Finn didn’t enjoy taking payment from the desperate, but he had to make a living, and if he started giving his services away for free, he knew he would soon have an empty stomach.
The young man nodded at him, “okay, okay. I will get you your coin. I promise!”
“Very well, by the way. What is a church?” Finn asked, puzzled. The young man looked at him equally as confused. “A place to worship our Lord.”
“Your Lord? Who is that?”
“God.”
“God?” The young man nodded at Finn. “Just one God?” Again, the young man nodded at him. “Hmm…” Finn grunted. “A religion that worships only one God, I can’t see that becoming popular!” The young man was about to say more, but Finn cut him off as he stood up abruptly, having finished his pie and ale.
“Right! Remember …” Finn looked at him waving his hand.
“Tom!” The man said.
“Tom. I will be leaving tomorrow unless your village comes up with payment for your black pup.”
“Black Shuck.” Tom corrected him.
Finn nodded and glanced back at the dark wavy-haired woman that had not removed her eyes from his. He smiled at her nodding his head towards his room, gesturing for her to follow. “Now, Tom, I’m afraid my attention is needed elsewhere. See you tomorrow.” Finn turned his back on Tom and paused at the bar to collect another drink before making his way upstairs with the quick-to-follow wavy-haired woman. “I promise I will have your fee,” Tom shouted to Finn; Finn raised his flagon to Tom, not particularly caring about what he had to say as he watched the woman join his side, eager to wrap her hands around him. She gasped, feeling his muscled arm. “You are so strong!” Finn gave a filthy laugh.
“Aye, would you like to see how strong I am?” She nodded at him with a suggestive grin. “Yes, I would!”
