Obtaining Dillus Varvawc's beard

Obtaining Dillus Varvawc’s beard is a quest episode in which Kai and Bedwyr secure an essential component for a leash meant to hold Drudwyn, the cub of Greid son of Eri. The successful raid delivers the requested beard to Arthur, but Arthur’s verse about it provokes Kai and brings their alliance to a lasting end.

The Need for the Beard

Kai explains that no ordinary leash can hold Drudwyn: the cub can be restrained only by a leash made from Dillus Varvawc’s beard. Even that material will fail if the beard is taken after Dillus is dead, because it would then be brittle. The task therefore requires both a particular object and a particular condition of obtaining it: Dillus must be alive when his beard is plucked.

Kai and Bedwyr’s Raid

Kai and Bedwyr spot smoke rising to the south. Though the wind is at its strongest, the smoke does not bend, and they follow it to Dillus, who is roasting a wild boar. Rather than attack immediately, Kai proposes waiting until Dillus has eaten and fallen asleep. While they wait, the two prepare wooden tweezers, the implement needed to remove the beard alive.

Once Dillus is asleep, Kai digs a large pit beneath him and knocks him into it. Kai and Bedwyr then use the wooden tweezers to pluck out the beard. After securing it, they kill Dillus. Their method fulfills the requirement Kai had described: the beard is taken while its owner is alive, so it can serve as the leash’s material.

Delivery and Rupture

Kai and Bedwyr carry the beard-leash to Gelli Wic, in Cornwall, and place it in Arthur’s hands. Arthur responds by composing an englyn about the leash and its maker. The poem turns the successful acquisition into a personal slight in Kai’s eyes: he becomes so angry that the warriors can scarcely make peace between him and Arthur.

The dispute has an enduring consequence. From then on, Kai no longer comes to Arthur’s aid, whether Arthur is in trouble or his men are being killed. Thus the episode completes its practical objective but also marks a decisive break in the relationship between Kai and Arthur; the object secured for the hunt is accompanied by the loss of Kai’s future support.