Meanwhile Bledig and Bedwyr went up to the top of the snowy Coomb, and there they saw a great plume of smoke afar off, which did not drift in the wind. And this was a sign to them that it was a fire of a thief. And indeed it was Dillus the Bearded who had made it, the greatest thief that ever fled from Cynfor. Bledig and Bedwyr observed the robber while he roasted the flesh of a wild boar in the fire. Then, while he was gorging himself on the succulent meat, they set a trap for him. They dug a pit behind him in the snow, then, coming round in front of him, they struck him so hard that he fell backwards into it. Then they plucked out his beard which was to be woven into the leash that alone could hold the dogs needed for hunting Baedd Braff.
But first they had to go to South Dunland to bring to bay the Great Boar of the Bog, whose tusk alone could shave the beard of Brynmor. The hunting of this beast was dire, but it was nothing compared with the hunting of Baedd Braff, the Great Boar of the Arallfyd where Rhi Helvarch ruled.
With the dogs, Aned and Aethlem, the companions set out in search of Baedd Braff. This boar had already laid waste a third part of Dunland, and there was certain precious things between his ears, a comb and a pair of golden shears, for he had once been a Chief that Rhi Helvarch had transformed into a swine for his sins. Gwrhyr spoke to him in the speech of swine. One of the Great Boar’s offspring replied for him. This was Grey Hide, whose hide shone in the woodlands, and he replied that the treasures would never be yielded up unless the Great Boar was slain. Meanwhile, Baedd Braff and all his brood would go into Cynfor’s land and wreak all the mischief that was in their power.
Baedd Braff arrived through the Bonevales with all his offspring. Cynfor and his host caught up with them. With Cynfor were some of the men who had distinguished themselves in Southern Dunland in the hunting of the Great Boar of the Bog. But even so four of Cynfor’s finest warriors were slain. And in a second encounter in the same place four more were killed, though this time Baedd Braff himself was wounded. And between that place and Galtrev the boar killed three other men, and one of these was Cynfor’s chief derudh. And at Galtrev two other men fell to the riving tusks, and the hunt continued eastward as far as the large pine wood, with many huntsmen and many dogs killed. From the time that Baedd Braff came out of the woods, Cynfor never had sight of him till then, and it was there, too, that many of the offspring were killed, so that only two of them were left alive. Still the Great Boar made a stand, even against Cynfor himself, so that many more dogs and men fell to the terrible tusks.
The hunt now changed directions, as Baedd Braff made for the North, and then back south towards Trum-Dreng, then once again south more towards Dunbog, and everywhere he went he left a trail of death. A Chief of Hebog-luth and a Chief of Caru-Luth were among his victims, and some of Cynfor’s kinsmen too. But by now all the Boar’s brood lay dead, scattered along the hillsides, all except the Great Boar himself. At last they came to the banks of the River Isen. Cynfor summoned the warriors of all of Dunland, and determined to force the Great Boar into the river. Mabon ap Modron, who had been so long imprisoned in Enedwaith, assembled a host of hunters who came upon Baedd Braff between the Isen and the Afon Fraster, forcing him into the water, and seized the shears from behind his ears, but they could not win the comb. For Baedd Braff was swift and agile in the manner of all swine, and neither man nor hound could overtake him until he reached Lhan Twrch. And all their trouble was mere play compared with the bloody battle they fought to obtain the comb. When this too had been wrenched from the beast’s head, Baedd Braff plunged into the murky depths in the bog, taking with him the two dogs, Aned and Aethlem, who had hunted him so long, to return with them to the Arallfyd under the ground. And this was the hunting of the Great Boar.
Then Cynfor rested in Lhan Twrch and enquired, “Is there any of the tasks yet unfulfilled?”
“Still we must get the blood of the Black Derudh necessary for the shaving of Brynmor”, the champions told him. This woman was the daughter of the White Derudh and she dwelt in the valley on the borders of Enedwaith. So Cynfor set forth and came to that place. And there with him Gwynn the son of Nudd and Gwythyr son of Greidiawl. Two of their men went in to fight the crone, for it is not seemly for great warriors to be seen contention with a hag. But she drove them out of her cave. Then two others went in and she did with them likewise. So then Cynfor set them all four on his great horse, and with them burst into the cavern. He drew his dreaded dagger Carnwennan, struck at the Black Derudh and clove her in twain, so that she fell in two parts. And Huwcyn of Caru-Luth took the black blood and kept it for the shaving of Brynmor.
Then Cledwyn, together with as many as wished ill to Brynmor, who were numerous, took all these trophies to the giant’s halls. They showed him Mabon ap Modron, free at last. They displayed to him the sword of Wrnach the Black Giant. They laid out for him the nine scalps of golden hair for the weaving of Aerona’s bridal cloak.. They brandished the beard of Dillus the Thief, plaited into a leash for the hounds that had hunted Baedd Braff. And Huwcyn of Caru-Luth showed him the gleaming sharp tusk of the Great Boar of the Bog, and a bowl of the blood of the Black Derudh.
And Huwcyn of the Caru-Luth shaved his beard, skin and flesh, clean from ear to ear.
“Are you shaved, man?” asked Cledwyn.
“I am shaved.” answered Brynmor.
“Is your daughter mine now?”
“She is yours,” said the giant. “It is Cynfor who has done this for you. If I had a choice, you wouldn’t have her, for I if I lose her, I lose my life.”
So they cut off his head and placed it on a stake in the centre of Dunland. And they took possession of his halls and of his treasure. And that night Aerona became Cledwyn’s bride, and she continued to be his wife for as long as they lived.
And the hosts departed, each man to his own village once more.
(Apologies for such a long post. If anyone is interested, this story is based off the old Welsh myth of Culhwch ac Olwen. Thank you for reading.)
