Eudeyrn's Escape.

Nothing more is said as the surviving warriors scatter and disappear back into the forest to face the Romans. Eudeyrn knows that they will not survive the night and he must escape. Quickly darting to one side he disappears into the blackness of the dense undergrowth.

Chanting under his breath time and time again, "They will not get me."
He forces his way into the middle of a dense thicket of gorse bushes. These bushes, higher than his head and almost impenetrable, were planted by the Jersey people for defence.

Somehow he is able to disregard the many thorns digging deep into his flesh. Low laughter emits for a grimacing face; while bulging eyes indicate the pain level he quietly endures. Euderyn is in a murderous mood, "May the gods help any man who comes near me."

He has no fear, knowing that no man can match his speed and skill as a warrior.

Hiding in a gorse bush is an old trick he has heard of... With little interest, he passes the time slowly removing the mass of thorns, one at a time, from his good arm, his legs, side and face. He barely notices the slashed arm and the blood dripping down his side. He decides to hide and await the safety of a moonless black night.

The Romans make camp.


"We will search for survivors tomorrow at first light," said centurion Quintus Cato in charge of a troop, now well under strength ; unaware of the importance of this mission he is responsible for.

"Our casualties are high, at six dead and eighteen wounded," reports Tiberius, his second in command," a man of much experience.

This is the first patrol I have led and with all these casualties to account for. Caesar will not be pleased," said Quintus Cato.

"Not one of them has surrendered. We must find the load they were carrying, for if we do not, there may be consequences when we return to Caesar. We can try searching with fire brands." Said Tiberious.

"No! We have lost enough men... Back to Camp!" orders Quintus and they march off with the rest of the troop following behind.

The Escape.

Later.

Eudeyrn is still safely hidden inside some gorse bushes. Wrapping his arm with a strip of material from his leg binding in the Celtic way, he manages to slow down the blood loss. Rain pours over him and soon he is saturated. His spirits are lifted as he realises, that this will help to cover any traces of the digging.

All is quiet, on this the darkest of nights. Until he hears something move in the distance, he strains to listen and knows that it is one of the mules so recently set free. Carefully standing up, he pushes his way out of the bushes the thorns attacking him again, He tries to walk, feeling unwell, only now does he realise how weak he is, from loss of blood.

Fortune is with him and soon, he is astride the reluctant mule. Heading for the coast he is careful to return along a different path. Daybreak is two hours away as Eudeyrn reaches the shore. With the tide on its way down and desperate to return to his village, he rides out across the gullies and sand banks. With the water up to the mule's underbelly at times, he makes his escape into the black night, completely invisible from land.

*****

Next morning, the Romans make a wide sweep that covers the whole eastern end of the island. Looking for the mules that have been reported to be with the Coriosolites, they burn all before them, pillaging anything of value.

The little hovel where they find the murdered old man, is set on fire as a matter of course. A number of cabbages are taken and the digging site now looks just like any other patch of soggy ground. The remaining four mules are found grazing later that day, having wandered away from the area.

*****

Caesar is furious with Kedehern, who under torture confirms all the details that have been revealed by the informants... plus the fact that the treasure is destined for Jersey. That morning as soon as the information is known, Caesar directs his trusty centurion Persious Maximus, in command of thirty troops to go with all haste to Jersey, and, 'help' centurion Quintus Cato. With the promise of a reward of one hundred gold crowns if they recover the treasure, he knows that he can trust him. Persious also takes five men from the torture division with him.

Eudeyrn Returns.


Riding without stopping, he approaches Corseul and is exhausted. His shoulder wound throbbing badly, with a fever starting to take hold.

He meets Belinus and his brother Albin from the family Eratos. Finding Eudeyrn leaning forward on the mule, they insist on helping him, now he is weak and unable to walk. With enough awareness about him to realise that these brothers are not to be trusted.

Smuggling Euderyn into town unseen on the mule, he is taken to their house. Hidden out of sight of the Romans, he is treated for his infected wound. His pain defused by a liberal intake of beer; he is unable not to scream, as spider's webs are pushed into the wound. With a covering of fresh sphagnum moss this is held in place with strips of rag.

Lying on the bed for two days he battles the infection, his raging fever attended by the women of the family. In a lucid moment he is aware of an audience of six warriors, all are intent on learning the location of the treasure and forwarding it to Versingetorix.

Later it is while lying resting on the bed, due to the quiet conditions, he overhears the two brothers talking quietly outside, some distance away. He listens carefully.

"That was a good idea of yours to send Judoc to see Ceasar," said Albin.

"It worked well, for Keduryn is gone now," agrees his brother Belinus..

"All we need is the location... we will have our day. And father will be chief at last," said Albin.

"We must make Eudeyrn show us the location before we... you know... All that wealth, the coins and gold will make our family strong," adds Belinus.

Gravely ill with pus oozing from the infected slash wound Eudeyrn manages to sit up. The shock of hearing that conversation gives him a temporary boost. Feeling far from helpless, being well able to take a life if need be.

He knows there is little he can do about the situation. With only his heavily pregnant sister he has no one left on his side he can trust. They have all been killed fighting on Jersey. If only he had a living brother. Even Trysan by his side would have changed the situation, no one would have dared to plot as these brothers are doing. He remembers his friend and believes he will soon join him.
Later the two brothers arrive to talk to Eudeyrn.

Keeping his wound covered he has seen the dark blotch that has appeared around the wound. He knows what this means and stalls for time... so precious now, with so little left. With his body trembling and a face dripping with leaking fever, he manages to say in a strong voice.

"I need rest so I can regain my strength."

Aware that this is the last thing the brothers would want. He knows also that he is safe in their hands until the location of the treasure is known. This does not stop him holding on to his dagger under his cloak.

"Eudeyrn, you must show us the site, so we can pass on our tribute to Versingetorix, as your father would have wished," Belinus, leaves this for Euderyn to reflect on for a second or two...then.

"We can leave right away, for the Romans have returned from Jersey."

Unable to resist and not caring for his fate, Euderyn allows himself to be loaded onto a small horse drawn cart. Placing him carefully inside a pile of hay, where hidden from sight, no vengeful villagers can see him.

With no option but to take the shortest route, six Coriosolite warriors and a small cart set off for Jersey.

That evening the party find themselves at the causeway leading to Jersey. There, they spot a Roman patrol and have to wait for it to pass out of sight. At low tide the crossing is made with some apprehension, for they must not be seen.

The setting sun alleviates some of the tension felt by the six Coriosolite warriors. Nothing can be done until daylight, so a few hours of rest follow their arrival on the shores of Jersey.

Eudeyrn, is in a bad way for the hours he spent being jolted about in the cart has only made him worse. Neither medicine nor strange chant helps him.

"Where is the help from the gods when you want them?" he asks in between his moments of delirium.

"For I can see them but they don't help me... Damn them all," he says over and over again.

Euderyn's escort look at one another, hoping he will live long enough. For this kind of battle wound is well known to them and few survive once that smell starts.

With extreme effort, he directs the escorts who are guiding the cart along a track that he traveled so recently. Signs of the battle can be seen, areas of worthless debris, shredded clothing, split shields, etc.

Progress is slow with the cart. He keeps his gaze to the left, as he lies there on the cart cushioned by the hay. Taking great effort, as his mind tries to drift, he keeps conscious.

At first he has an impulse to call out as they approach the small field, but, HE SAYS NOTHING. Looking for that small hovel, he can see that it has been burnt to the ground. The cabbage patch is just a bare patch of land, soon to be covered in grass and weeds. He knows this is the place and what he has to say.

"Carry on for we have a way to go yet."

With his work done, a whisper of a smile steals across his face and the fever is back. Progress is slowing further as Eudeyrn lapses in and out of consciousness unable now to do more than raise his head. Some time later he says.

"We must go back for we have passed it. It is by a large tree next to a hedge you will see it," these are the last words Eudeyrn says before he laps finally into unconsciousness.

One by one, Eudeyrn's internal organs shut down due to stemic shock, caused by gangrene. He dies that evening, taking the location of the hoard to his grave (located somewhere in the East of the island).

Several visits were made to Jersey to search for the treasure during the short lives of the warriors who accompanied Eudeyrn. With close attention to his directions nothing was found...

END

Writers notes.

It may be of interest to note that Caesar was active in this area of Gaul for a further year.

If this had happened as I described, to admit that the mules have been found and no treasure and together with the casualties, this would have been a serious offence, with Quintus Cato held responsible. It is likely that Caesar would have had him quietly tortured and put to death to check that nothing had been found and to make sure he couldn't gain if he was lying. Many of the Coriosolites would have been tortured, or held hostage to loosen a few tongues, had Caesar thought that any of them had definite knowledge about the location of the treasure buried. Perhaps they were tortured, for history is silent about the history of the Corisolite tribe.

In spite of the acidic soil, charcoal and post holes have been found in the vicinity of the hoard. I think I am right about human bones also being found previously in the area.

According to Jersey folklore the last crossing was on horseback in about 1640 AD. It is believed that the land has sunk over the years; now requiring a boat to cross.

Because of the location, size and importance of this find I felt compelled to write something. Starting with the idea of just writing 1500 words or so, it soon expanded to over 8,000. A learning process that during the research has opened my eyes, to how life was in those times. And how we know practically nothing about Celtic tribes in general. It has given me pleasure writing this account of what I think may have happened those many years ago.

This story is about fighting and so is gory by nature, I have not gone to excessive lengths in my descriptions. But this is how it must have been and I make no apologies.

If anyone thinks that this story is a bit fantastic, please remember that truth can be even stranger than fiction. And something did happen.

My thanks to c-lucas for this excellent article www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2164897/iron-age-coins-worth-10m-discovered-jersey-metal-detector-friends.
"The Jersey Hoard."