#so um... yeah... Aideen

[dorianwolfforest]

She obviously had the crystal in a head lamp like people in a mine do, so it could light her the way and her harp. How does one play the harp in the darkness without a light? Yeah you don't so. Headlamp.

Headlamp theory coming in hot, I’m adding it to the shelf and wondering why I didn’t think of it first.

Aideen defeats Garnok in one fell swoop by saying “um please dni I’m a miner??? :/ kinda weird”

[ginnyzero]

Completely Harmless Ch. 5

Completely Harmless An SSO SilverGlade Re-imagining Story (Or Fix it Fan Salt fic) By Ginny O.

When Lily and her friends wanted to buy horses and were directed to the Silverglade Manor and its myriad of problems, they didn’t expect to start a revolution. They were just a bunch a stable girls. Completely harmless. Right?

A/N: Things are only canon if I say they’re canon. Pre-Saving the Moorland Stables compliant for the most part. Posted in its entirety on my website. Posted in 2000 to 4000 word bits here. Rated T for Swearing Word Count 177,577

Chapter Five Helping Sir Aaron Silverglade

Last time:

“How do you think we should handle Aaron?” Lily asked as she settled back into the seat.

“Lie,” Pauline said blandly.

“Lie?” Lily raised a brow.

“Tell him we were sent by his mother to find out information.” Pauline shrugged.

“That’s actually plausible.” Lily pinched her nose. “For a good cause, I guess.”

Pauline poked about the internet. “He’s still at the ice cream shop.”

“Oh good,” Lily sighed. “What do you think of Anastasia’s ideas?”

“I don’t think that the Baroness will care if we start pulling weeds and things,” Pauline said.

Lily nodded.

“As long as we keep our meddling to minor fixes that we can handle and don’t step on her toes.” Pauline bit her lip. “Keep up the stables, pull weeds, do some cleaning.” She shrugged.

“Prepare the way for the experts.” Lily’s leg jiggled.

Pauline turned a bit in the seat as the tram slowed to a stop. “I think you got her scheming about how to get back into her mother’s good graces. She might just do the rest. Or at least, point us in the right direction.”

“I’m sure Iris knows gardeners.”

“Exactly. And gardeners will know mechanics,” Pauline said.

They walked across the road. “You know,” Lily said. “She may not see it. I’m not saying her eyesight is bad,” she said hurriedly. “She’s been there so long and the things keep piling up. After a while you become blind to the mess.”

They walked into the doors.

“That’s true,” Pauline said. “It becomes your mess and quite comfortable.”

“Right!” Lily agreed.

They skirted the tables.

“Sir Silverglade,” Pauline said politely as they sidled up to a rather nervous looking man seated at a high table with a laptop in front of him.

He jumped. “Um, hello, that’s, me.”

“Sir Silverglade, I’m Pauline and this is my friend, Lily. We work for your mother. She sent us to find out any information about how to get G.E.D. out of the north paddock.” Pauline smiled gently at him.

“Oh dear. Oh dear. Oh my,” Aaron wrung his hands. “I knew she’d do this,” he mumbled. He looked around for some ice cream. “I, I, I’m not any good at this.”

Lily soothed him. “We also have new information. Whatever the problem is, I’m sure we can help you.”

“Oh, oh, I’m not so certain at all. I’ve been locked out of my laptop you see. And oh dear, oh my, I just can’t seem to get back in.”

“Have you forgotten your password?” Lily asked.

He nodded.

“Do you have a phone?” Lily said and tried not to sigh. Older people.

Aaron bit his lip. “I do. But I’m not sure what that has to do with anything.”

Pauline struggled not to roll her eyes. “I’ll get us some ice cream.”

Lily moved the seat and shoved it to be closer to Aaron. “All right, start your computer,” she said.

Aaron started it up. “See,” he said and typed something.

“All right, see that link about resetting your password, click on it,” Lily said. “Okay, now, go to your email in your phone. You can do that.”

“Of course!” Aaron didn’t sound offended at all. He logged into his email. “But, it’s not my work email you see.”

“That’s fine,” Lily said. “Is the computer registered to your work email?”

“No. No,” Aaron said. “At least, I don’t think so.”

“Oh, look, you have an email about resetting your password.” Lily pointed at it. She coached him through changing it. Pauline returned with ice cream and Lily absentmindedly took a bite. Her face brightened. That was really good ice cream.

Aaron almost cried as he logged into the computer.

“All right,” Lily said. “There.”

Aaron clicked on his work programs. “Oh, thank you. Thank you so much.”

“Anytime you get blocked out. You can reset the password through your phone,” Lily reassured him. “No big deal.”

Aaron frowned as he skimmed emails to catch up. “Oh dear.”

“Oh dear?”

“No good news, I’m afraid. G.E.D. brought in lawyers and are contesting our claims of breaking contract. In no means did our contract say that they could put up oil rigs on our land! Especially since there is no clauses in there for us getting a share of any profits on oil drilled and sold from our property.” Aaron sniffed. “As if we’d forget those!”

Pauline scraped the bottom of her bowl and widened her eyes making a face.

“No. I don’t think you would,” Lily said. “Well, we have some new information. I could email it to you and you can forward it to your lawyers.”

Aaron told her the email.

Lily forwarded all the pictures and the text with the oil rigs numbers on it. Pictures of the rigs in action, the pollution, the ducks in the pollution, the oil rig numbers, the broken fence, just everything the girls had discovered.

Aaron opened it and as he scrolled through the pictures, his face turned more and more red. He hit the forward button and then paused. “Oh, what do I say? This is indefensible!”

They helped him come up with a sufficiently official and polite sounding email that would be taken seriously as it was urgent and convey how angry the Silverglades were over the blatant destruction of their pristine property and endangerment of the horses and wildlife.

Aaron jabbed send a bit too forcefully. “Oh, thank you, ladies. I am so sorry it had to come to you coming all the way out here. I wish I was better at this.”

“You’re doing the best you can,” Lily said. “You aren’t dumb, Sir Silverglade.”

“There has to be someone who can do this better than I can,” Aaron moaned.

“With a bit of practice, you’ll get better. You have to stop being so hard on yourself. Your mother wouldn’t have you doing this if she didn’t trust you.”

Aaron slumped and ate his ice cream. “She has me doing it because there is no one else. And I’m worse with the grapes.”

“No one can be in two places at once,” Lily said.

“If Anastasia cared about the grapes or the family name as much as she cared about clothes,” Aaron fretted. “She always had the ideas.” He ate more. “Not me,” he mumbled into the ice cream.

He received a message. His eyes scanned back and forth. “They want to send their own inspectors tomorrow. They’re recommending I send the photos and the numbers to the police. Apparently, there’s been oil rig theft.” Aaron gasped. “How do you steal oil rigs?”

“Well, if they are stolen, it’s pretty dumb of him to leave the numbers on them,” Lily murmured. “Of course, he doesn’t come off as that smart. Ruthless, but not smart.”

“They want to meet the person who found them.” Aaron read. “Oh dear. Oh dear. I better go too then.”

Lily brought up the phone and punched in a few messages. “They’ll be available.”

“They?”

“It’s our club,” Lily gestured between her and Pauline. “They were helping Tyra out today with the horses and stumbled across all of this.”

“Oh. That makes excellent sense.”

Lily and Pauline shared a look.

Lily stood. “I think you have things well in hand now. See you tomorrow, Sir Silverglade.”

Aaron sighed. “I do hate leaving the city.”

Lily made a mental note to have ice cream ready. Pauline leaned over and whispered. “What about instead of a tapas bar, there’s an ice cream or sorbet bar?” She did a quick internet search. “Yeah, sorbet and sherbet. There is no such thing as grape ice cream.”

Lily whispered back. “That’s brilliant!” She swiftly turned back to Aaron. “Sir Silverglade, do you have a list of your favorite ice cream concoctions and, and do you know if they’d pair well with wine?”

Aaron blinked. “I, I could.”

Lily leaned in. “There’s that bar at the,” she frowned. “What did you call it?” She asked Pauline.

“It’s the Wine Cave. It’s not actually a cave,” Pauline said. “But the earliest wine makers used limestone caves to ferment the wine. So, the nomenclature stuck. The building is actually made out of limestone and then faced with imported marble.”

“Yes, the wine cave, thanks Pauline.” Lily said. “What if, I mean, it’s a long shot, but, what if you came up with a menu for an ice cream and wine tasting bar for your mother. That way you’d be able to contribute to the manor with your skills.”

Aaron looked thoughtful and bewildered all at once. “That is usually a good way to a hangover.”

“But, it can be done?” Pauline asked.

“Well, yes,” Aaron said. “But still, hangover.”

“It’s supposed to be a tasting bar. Small bowls of ice cream and small bits of wine. Pair with cakes and cookies,” Lily said.

“That’s more sugar. It’s not going to help,” Aaron murmured.

“Nuts?”

“Oh, nuts are good,” Aaron said. He was reaching for the laptop.

Lily smirked. “Well, I for one can’t wait to see your pairings and ideas.”

Aaron blinked.

“You’re the expert on ice cream,” Pauline said sweetly.

And with that, they left him furiously typing away.

Lily gloated. “You are genius.”

Boarding the tram, Pauline flushed and grinned.

It wasn’t far to Aideen’s Plaza.

“This is nice,” Lily said glancing around.

Iris had a cart outside of her shop.

Lily inspected the offerings.

Iris immediately sensed a sale. “May I help you?”

“Oh, please,” Lily said. “We’re looking for flowers to give to Baroness Silverglade. We’ve heard she likes roses.”

“I have plenty of roses.” Iris said. “In fact,” she snapped her fingers. “I have a beautiful lavender rose vine named Sterling Silver.”

“That would be perfect,” Lily said. “Is it a large one or something small like a miniature tea rose?”

“It’s a florist rose. It has long stems, good for cutting and has a strong citrusy scent,” Iris explained.

“So, if she planted them in the gardens, she could sell them too?” Pauline said slowly.

“Not to cut in on your business of course,” Lily said in a hurry. “Just, the manor needs some color.”

“The gardens are in a dreadful shape,” Pauline wrinkled her nose.

“But we don’t know anything about them,” Lily said. “That’s why we were going to get her some flowers as a gift. Since, we can’t, well, you know.” She shrugged.

“I know plenty of gardeners,” Iris said. “They’d love to get their hands dirty in someplace as high class as the Baroness’ garden. Though, some of them are pretty high handed.”

Pauline fiddled with her gloves. “Well, you know, the manor grounds are open for tourists to come and look around,” she said. “I mean, if they had any plans.”

Lily lowered her voice. “We’ve heard the Baroness likes plans.”

Iris put a finger next to her nose. “I understand.” She turned to her plants. “I think this is what you’re looking for,” she said and picked up a pot with a rose plant in it. “And, if any of my gardeners seem interested, I’ll send them your way.”

“Thank you,” Lily said. They paid Iris and headed back to the tram.

“And gardeners know mechanics,” Pauline said.

They returned to the mall and picked up the big box of iced coffees. The girl had nicely packed them into foil coated box with extra ice packs. They thanked her profusely and Lily gave her a big tip. They quickly rushed and got some special soap for the ducks.

Then, it was back to Fort Pinta. They changed their clothes in the tack room before picking up their horses and instead of riding, took a transport to the winery to save time.

They waved down the other girls and started handing out drinks.

“Oh this is heavenly,” Abigail groaned.

“Mana from the gods,” Jennifer said.

“Cold,” Regina moaned and pressed hers against her forehead.

Lily passed a drink to Linda with a raised brow.

“We’ve been putting up a temporary fence to keep the horses from wandering into the oil rigs,” Linda informed her.

Lily brandished the soap. “We’ve got soap for the ducks!”

Soon enough, while Linda and the others finished putting the very last bit of the fence in place, Lily and Pauline filled a tub with water and got to work gently washing the ducks with the special soap (Dawn.) Lily filled several big stable trough tubs and soon enough the poor things were splashing about in the clean water.

The other girls came and helped.

One splashed another and started a squealing water fight.

FOR THE ACCOMPANYING IMAGES PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE MY WATERMARK AND CONTACT INFORMATION. THANK YOU. I get it. Some of you might get excited and want to see this stuff in the game, especially the clothes, tack, and pets. However, the only way I want to see this in the game is if I get paid for it. If I see it in the game and I’m not paid for it, there will be hell to pay. You think I’m salty. I’d be angry. Personally, I’m not going to send this info to SSO. If you do, leave my contact information there! Don’t give them any excuses to steal.

Now, I’ll know you haven’t read this note if you leave me comments about how ‘salty’ I am about the game and if I hate it so much I should do something else. I am doing something else. It’s called Mystic Riders MMORPG Project. Mystic Riders however is a very baby phase game. You can check out our plans on the game dev blog. (Skills, Factions, Professions, Crafting, Mini-Games, 25+ horse breeds!) If you know anyone who would be interested and has money or contacts about game making, direct them to the blog.

[writingonjorvik]

The B Team Druids - Chapter 13 - The Chosen

Tides of Favor

When Carrie came too again, she couldn’t feel her head. It spun numbly, images struggling to rightened as she opened her eyes. She knew her head was still attached to her body, but for a moment, the two failed to connect to each other. 

She spent a long time ​staring up at the ceiling. It was a cream color, filled with dots from the spackled plaster. As her eyes grew weary, dots appears in a mirade of colors. Yellows and reds and blues flashing through the uneven surface. Carrie wondered where the lights were coming from and where her head had gone and what in the world was happening right now.

"Stay."

The world tilted. A thing call gravity returned to Carrie's senses as she realized her body couldn't just float away. The world had rules, laws, order. Slowly, her mind started putting that order back together.​

Raven appeared, sitting beside the bed Carrie found herself on. She extended a cup to Carrie's mouth, before slowly feeding it to Carrie's limp body. "Rest." She took in a deep breath, demonstrating a long, drawn gasp. Carrie repeated it. Raven nodded. "Repeat. Drink."

There was soup in the cup. More of a stew with all the bits and chunks floating in it as well, but all cut very small. Carrie didn't even think of chewing for a long while. Didn't even remember what chewing was for much longer, just that she ought to have been. An odd word, chewing. She knew what it was for yet she did. Her head spun, hurt, stung, bite, burned, bled--

"Not this." Raven tapped Carrie's forehead, suddenly the thoughts going still. "Not well. Don't think."

Carrie obliged. She focused on the dots again. She let Raven feed her. She let the world be.

After a while, more laws found their way back into Carrie's mind. Memories trickled in like raindrops through the treetops. Carrie remembered who she was. She remembered her family, her home. She remembered Ash and Raven and Saoirse and Bree and Ari. She remembered walking through dreams and walking so far that she found an break in the world.

And then everything was whole again.

Sitting up, Carrie looked at Raven was was sitting patiently by the bedside. Her arms were folded over a dark orange tank top that stood in dark contrast to her dark complexion. Carrie realized it was the first time she had seen Raven without that heavy jacket on. The color flattered her bright amber eyes.

“What happened? What was going on? Why couldn’t I--”

Raven held up a hand for silence. She turned to her phone, tapping the screen before rocking back as an automated voice played. “Ask fewer questions. You walked for too long, too far from your body. The two are struggling to come back together.”

“Did you find Meteor?”

Raven nodded.

“Who was it? I saw her. She had a grey horse, she was on that hill nearby--”

Again, Raven raised her head. She lifted her phone, typed for a minute, before letting the automated voice speak again. “Fewer questions. Right now you need to rest. Don’t think on it. You were very close to a rift, we don’t know what that will do to you, or your mind. Meteor is fine. I will tell you more soon.”

“Promise?”

“Another nod.”

Carrie fell back on the bed. “Thanks.”

The next day moved like tar. Carrie was confined to the bed, waiting on Raven’s approval to leave. She thought it would never come.

In the meantime, she got visits. And small updates. The events in Silverglade were being worked through. And by worked through, Carrie came to understand it meant erased. Unless someone was part of the Keepers, slowly memories were being altered, fixed as Elizabeth put it, until the attacks were nothing but a little nightmare. A swarm of bees had come through, that was all. Nothing to worry over.

The thought of it made Carrie a little sick to her stomach, seeing it all vanish in the blink of an eye. 

A few people had been spared from the wipe. James, who had his memories played with enough. The Baroness and a few of her staff. A handful of Jorvik Rangers. Not enough to justify things, but Carrie had little say from her sick bed. She would have had little say anywhere, but here it felt particularly punctuated.

Saoirse and Linda visited last. Linda was overly grateful, thanking Carrie so many times over she failed to count. Carrie smiled as the tension seemed to ebb away from Linda, and Saoirse as well. Her thanks were silent, but Carrie could feel them tenfold as the two left, some peace of mind at last.

“How long have they been together?” Carrie asked, turning to Raven.

Raven took in a deep breath. She counted on her fingers, before shrugging. “Seven months.”

“So since before all of this started happening?”

Nodding, Raven fidgeted with her phone. Her expression was tense, but the healer remained silent as ever.

“What now?”

It took Raven a moment, but she pulled out the app on her phone. “You rest.”

“You didn’t need your phone to say that,” said Carrie.

She shrugged, typing again. “You need to rest. We will deal with everything else in the morning.”

“Aren’t you worried though?” Carrie pushed. “We know enough about my powers now, so what now? Do we form this pact with Jon? Are we ready? What do we do?”

Raven sighed, standing up. She set a hand on Carrie’s shoulder. “Rest,” she emphasized again. With that, she left, turning the light out as she went.

Carrie didn’t sleep much that evening.

Heroes

“Carrie, I think it’s time you meet someone.” Linda held the door to the room in Linda’s apartment. As Carrie looked up, Linda rocked her head. “Well, two somebodies.”

Raven drew her scarf up over her mouth as Carrie sat up straight, watching the doorway. A moment later, a young woman with dirty blonde hair stepped into the room, waving briefly. Alex waved. “We already met.”

Carrie smiled back. “Yeah. Silverglade.”

“You guys helped us a lot. I can’t thank you enough,” Alex answered, taking a seat beside Raven, who slid away silently as far as she could to the other side of the chair.

“Oh that’s right,” Linda added, her eyes lighting up. “Aideen, it’s been a busy few days, hasn’t it.”

“You could say that,” Carrie agreed, rocking back on the bed. Still recovering, it would be a while before she was at her best again. But she was getting there.

Linda leaned back out the door, talking to someone outside. She shook her head, but Carrie couldn’t make out what they were saying. After a moment, Linda leaned back in. When she did, a new figure walked in. She was a little taller than Carrie, with feathered brown hair that fell to her shoulders. Hazel eyes with golden rims watched Carrie, before waving. Linda introduced, “Carrie, this is our friend, Amelie.”

Amelie walked across the room, holding out her hand. “Nice to meet you.”

Something in the woman’s eyes made Carrie cock her head. Something familiar, deep inside her core. She held her hand out, shaking. “Same.”

As they did, something tingled through Carrie’s arm. She felt the shock of it course through her mind, the dream plane she’d been traveling through flashing in her mind. As she pulled away, she watched a golden light fading from Amelie’s hand. Carrie’s eyes widened. “You’re her.”

“Um?”

“Aideen’s champion,” Carrie finished.

Amelie’s eyes widened. She leaned down, staring intensely back at Carrie. “You know about that?”

“I— A ghost told me.”

“You talked to Jon Jarl too then. Goddess, I thought I was losing it. Nobody tells me anything about my powers,” Amelie confided, before blushing as she turned back to the Soul Riders. “No offense.”

“I’m sure Elizabeth is just trying to be thorough,” Linda replied, smiling. “Whatever it is, we’ll figure it out together.”

“Right.” Amelie nodded, but her face hid a pain Carrie could see a flash of this close. Amelie turned back to Carrie, before cupping her hands. Between them, she filled the cup with light, radiant and brilliant. As the lights flickered in her hands, she looked Carrie in the eyes. “We need to talk some more.”

The Ghost King

“You did that?”

“With a little help,” Amelie replied as they walked through the newly opened archway into the king’s tomb. “I think it’s been warded since then. I don’t know how to do it.”

“We could practice. Together,” Carrie offered. Amelie whipped her head around, eyes wide. “I mean, if you wanted—”

“I’d love that! Could you take me there too then? For your practice?” she asked. “Your dream world.”

Carrie shrugged. “I guess.”

The air hung around them as they found themselves at the pool chamber of the tomb. Another door stood open, one Carrie had seen sealed by the moon on her last visit. An empty table waited on the other side.

“Champion of Aideen! You returned!” Jon Jarl’s voice boomed, sending dust loose from the ceiling. His ghost fragments and reformed before them, pulling Carrie’s attention to the pool. “How may I aid you?”

“We need to talk about her,” Amelie started, wrapping an arm around Carrie’s shoulders. 

Jon Jarl turned to Carrie, his form tilting as he thought. “Do I...know you? Oh! The Lesser Champion!”

“That’s not a nice name,” Amelie retorted with a scowled.

Carrie laughed, pulling loose of Amelie’s grip. “It’s ok. We’re still figuring it out.”

“Indeed, dreamwalker. I did not recognize you outside the Twilight Haven,” Jon answered.

“Is that what it’s called?”

“It seems a fitting name. What can I help you will, Champions of Aideen?”

“Why do I— we, have these powers? These are different from the rest of the druids, and no one will talk to us about them,” Amelie asked, holding up her hands to let the glow overtake them.

Jon Jarl floated down, studying the light. He rocked back, before saying, “I do not know that it is wise for me to speak on this matter if others withhold it. There have been others who have...not been able to handle this gift.”

“Others of her, but not others of us,” Carrie corrected. “You said you’d never met someone with my powers, but I’m connected to Aideen too. If you told us, then we could stop people from getting hurt, right?”

The ghost didn’t respond.

Carrie huffed, looking at Amelie for help. Her friend looked rather defeated. Carrie turned back, stepping up to the pool. “Can you tell us what Aideen’s powers were?”

Sinking into his pool, Jon Jarl fragmented once more before floating back to reveal his pool. A great expanse of celestial water ebbed beneath. It looked like a fragment of the plane Carrie had been to in her first dream. Jon Jarl rose his palms, the water ebbing up. “Aideen has many secrets. Some the dead must keep. Others the living. This one I will impart.”

A bubble floated before them, flattening out into the shape of a disk. Jon Jarl went on, “There are many tales of Aideen’s gift to the world, but I will tell you something about her true presence. When Aideen landed, she road with her four arms raised, in each a holy relic. Her Light, Her Sword, Her Book, and Her Harp. Each was a gift on which the druids founded their orders, of which the Soul Riders were bound.

“From each, Aideen drew great power from the world. Her Light could create anything out of its brilliance. Her Sword could rally any army, mortal or beast. Her Book let her view any plane and any truth in this world and all others. And Her Harp could cure any ailment, or curse any foe.”

The bubble fractured, before dropping back into the pool. Jon Jarl looked between the two. “The rest is for you to interpret, but I may say no more.”

Lisa

Carrie, Raven, and Ari waited at the Dews’ farm. Somewhere nearby, Amelie and the Soul Riders were freeing their friend from Pandoria. Carrie had dipped in and out of the Twilight Haven to see through the cracks breaking open across Jorvik, peering in like she had with Meteor.

“You think she could help your voice?” Ari asked.

A tension struck the air as Raven withdrew herself to Ghost. Ari turned back to Carrie. “She has to talk about it sooner or later.”

“That’s not really our call,” Carrie said.

“It’s going to come up, particularly with Lisa back,” Ari said. “You know which circle Lisa is the Soul Rider of, right?”

“Star?”

“Just like Raven. And that means the Harp is going to come up,” Ari replied, rolling her eyes. She turned to fidget with her nails.

The Harp. Aideen’s Harp. Carrie knew Linda and Bree were looking for it, but with two of the Soul Riders missing, Carrie knew their priorities. Carrie looked over at Raven, knowing the question in her mind betrayed the trust she was working so hard to build with the healer.

“She tried to play it.”

Guilt panged Carrie’s heart as Ari started, even if she hadn’t asked. Ari didn’t seem to notice. “Everyone knows only Aideen’s chosen ones or whatever can play that. It’s holy. It burned her throat from the inside out because of—” 

“Hey, Ari,” Carrie cut in. “Shut up.”

Ari rolled her eyes, her highlights shifting orange. She glanced over at Raven, who was staring daggers back at her. Ari shrugged. “What? You know you fucked up.”

Raven lowered her head, stalking back to Ari. Magic swelled in her palm before pushing it against Ari’s chest. Something black ilked from her hand before a white light washed over Ari. A blister the size of a quarter appearance and vanished on Ari’s throat.

Withdrawing, Raven pushed her magic in her throat. “I did not burn because I could not use it. It burned because I sang the wrong song.”

“Only the Soul Rider can use that,” Ari replied with a cough.

“She can sing life. I can sing death.” And with that, Raven returned to Ghost. She dropped her hand, turning to Carrie. She typed in her phone, the robotic voice replying, “I’m going to the Weeping Willow. You can come. We’ll deal with this later.”

The words from Jon Jarl’s tomb weaved in Carrie’s mind. A fragment, a distillation of Aideen’s power. Carrie turned to a bright red Ari, thinking about her friend’s other powers. The Sun Circle opened portals, but Carrie had seen far more illusions like Ari’s in the Circle. And Jon said Aideen’s Harp healed and hurt. Two fragments of the same circle.

And Carrie’s mind began to spin.

 The Rescue

“Bring him back.”

It wasn’t a question as Amelie stepped on the barge. Carrie locked her eyes Amelie, staring back into those golden rimmed eyes as Amelie had done when Carrie offered to practice their magic together.

Amelie wrapped her arms around Carrie, before stepping onto the ship. “We will.”

What was this? Why did she care so much? The last they had seen of Justin he was— Carrie refused the reality. She wanted to believe something of the old Justin was there, something she could salvage, something of their moments before the world has turned upside down.

Something together.

The barge was already across the bay. Carrie’s heart pounded as the four young women on the desk and their horses faded from view. It would be fine. They’d find him. They’d bring him back.

And then her body fell as she sent herself running across the water to catch them in the sunset haze.

 A Sisterhood

“Are we ready?”

It had been a long time since Carrie had been able to ask that. A long time working through...everything. Raven’s wound, Bree’s attention, Saoirse’s fury, Ari’s hurt, her own insecurities.

But now, the five of them stood alone in the only place Carrie knew to take them; Jon Jarl’s tomb, as grim as it was. This was the first place she had been drawn to, so close to where she’d met Saoirse and Raven for the first time. And now it felt right.

“We aren’t a sisterhood,” Bree commented.

“Not like the others, no,” Carrie replied, looking between the other four. “But we are a sisterhood. And maybe this is how we get answers.”

The ghost king was noticeably absent for this, despite his initial suggestion of it, what seemed like years ago now. Carrie watched his pool, before turning to her friends. “Look, I don’t know the answers, but someone has to find them. Amelie and the Soul Riders are out there trying to stop Garnok, but they’re too busy to answer the questions that really need to be answered. And without the Book of Light, we’re not going to get those any time soon. Unless we do something.”

“Us?” Raven asked through her raspy voice. Still unhealed, waiting to be able to restore it herself.

“Yes, us,” Carrie insisted, noticing Ari and Saoirse, notably respectful to each other. Still working on that. “We can do this. Are you with me?”

“I am,” Saoirse said first, holding out her hand. “I’m no’ Alex, bu’ I am a damned good druid. I’m in, for whadeve’ ya need me for.”

Raven’s answer was curt. “I am.”

“Me too!” Bree added.

With a huff, Ari nodded. “I expect us to start getting answers then.”

Carrie beamed, holding out her hands. As the others linked, Carrie leaned back into her power. She felt her body falling, and then the others. But as they tipped, she felt them stuck, here and between. Magic coursed through them, ebbing out of the tomb and into their joined arms.

“Sisters bound beneath the Light,” Carrie whispered, her own power ebbing out of her as the words came to her like instinct.

“Blood and bound to serve Her Storm.”

“Life and death to serve Her Song.”

“Truth and mind to serve Her Story.”

“Magic to create and serve Her Stand.”

Carrie’s mind dipped deeper into the Twilight Haven, deeper still until she could see the starry plains of Aideen’s realm. Magic poured through her, awoke through her, tore through her to fill her and then expanded out into her friends.

“My Legion To Serve The Book.”

 Justin

Beat, wheezing, bent, Carrie dropped to her knees as she made it to the ancient stone ring at the heart of South Hoof. She had never ridden so fast and hard in her life, and now as she watched Justin wobble away from the tree, she felt her heart ache. She had felt him, his magic, reaching through the world. When she saw Amelie, dogged and tired, Carrie knew her friend had seen the same.

Justin turned, meeting Carrie. Something broke across his face, tears showing first, and then the relief off his shoulders. Carrie staggered the first step, stumbled the second, and broke into a run on the third.

She grappled him, pulling him close. She squeezed hard. “I don’t know what this is, but I will not let you go.”

An embraced reached back at her. “I don’t want you to.”

Carrie gripped harder, before pulling back. She looked up in his greyed eyes, the grey streaks in his hair. She tipped her head to the side, something soft and exposed pulling at her heart. In that moment, everything seemed right and whole in the world.

She didn’t notice as the others moved to handle the situation, to talk to Rhiannon about Justin’s powers, about any of it. She let herself hold that moment for as long as it was there, and found Justin looking back and letting her.

“I’m not sure I’m...here yet,” Justin admitted, looking away.

“There’s no rush,” Carrie answered, following. “As long as you need. And as many lasgne’s as you want.”

Justin’s eyes lit up, a smirk trying to come out on his face. “What?”

“I mean, if you’re not worried about me butchering the recipe, your dad gave it to me after you got, well, arrested,” Carrie teased lightly. When the smirk broke across his face, she felt relief flood her.

“I’d like that. But I’m going to help too. I can’t let you completely butcher it,” Justin answered, a gentle squeeze back in Carrie’s hands. He held her gaze, nodding. “As long as it takes.”

Carrie found herself in the Twilight Haven when he pecked her on the forehead, blushing with three shades of embracement as her body collapsed on him and a frantic Amelie left explaining as Carrie burned crimson.

 Pandoria

“You sure you want to do this?” Amelie asked as Carrie eased herself on the cot set up beside the gate.

“You need a guide,” Carrie answered, not hesitating as her Soul Riders sat beside her. “I know I’m not affected by the magic when I’m in the Haven. Raven will be here to pull me out if things go wrong.”

They were at a campsite, not far from a gate Evergray had found. Amelie been to Pandoria before, but to disastrous effects. Anne was still trapped and Amelie, even with her magic, had nearly been killed. Worse, Fripp was...things were looking pretty shit.

“We’re not risking another attack,” Carrie said with finality, and before Amelie could argue, Carrie was on the other side. She stood up, patching Ash as the mare greeted her, and then walked to Ember. The stallion knickered to greet her as well, pushing a hand in her palm.

Climbing on behind Amelie was simple. The ripping feeling as she was pulled into the plane between Jorvik and Pandoria was not, but she endured it.

But Pandoria was another story.

Magic ran wild and it was all Carrie could do to hold herself in the Twilight Haven. Even here, magic slipped out between the planes, pulling at Carrie as she clung to Ember. The Starbreed ebbed magic, pooling it up into Carrie and helping her. So did the magic in her friend.

As they took their first steps into the plane, Carrie slid off. One hand still on Ember, she turned as Amelie spoke loudly, “If you’re still here, Carrie, this isn’t the island we were at. It don’t think it’s even connected. Can you help?”

Pulling out her phone, Carrie typed one handed. A moment later, a text message buzzed on Amelie’s phone as Carrie started into a jog down the bioluminescent lighting of the pink reality before her.

 Fripp

Carrie sat with Lisa, Bree, and Linda in Fripp’s chambers. While Linda had spend days pouring into the tomes about runes and portals and Pandoria, Carrie and Bree spent their time searching for answers on Aideen.

“Any luck?” Bree asked, turning to the table with Carrie.

“No,” Carrie huffed, shutting the book. “There’s nothing about her other relics, just the Light and the Harp.”

“Are you sure that’s what Jon Jarl said?” Linda asked from across the room.

“Yes,” Carrie answered absently. “He said she rode with four arms and four—”

“Relics, I got that,” Linda replied, pulling down a book on Pandoria’s creatures. “But Jon Jarl wasn’t always loyal to Aideen. Maybe he got it wrong.”

Bree leaned over the table. “That doesn’t explain Carrie’s powers, or Amelia’s being a fragment, or how we got our new powers, or abouttheritualwehadinthecave, or—”  

“What ritual?” Lisa asked, leaning back.

“They said they made a Soul Riders’ Pact,” Linda explained. “While you and Amelie were helping the Willow.”

“Linda, you know we did,” Carrie insisted as Lisa walked over, magic flickering off her fingertips from healing the blue squirrel. “You felt it. I know you did.”

While Linda remained silent, Lisa stepped up. “Can I?”

“Sure.”

Lisa placed a hand over Carrie’s heart. Carrie could feel magic ebbing through her, pooling through all her being before pulling out. Lisa frowned, stepping away. “She feels like Amelie, Linda. Same, and different. Why?”

“We don’t know, and we don’t have time to figure it out. We need to rescue Anne,” Linda said, buried in her book.

Carrie sighed, turning to Bree. As long as the Soul Riders were in danger, she’d never get her answers.

 The Truth

“Amelie, this is it! I think I finally—”

“Carrie, I can’t right now,” the phone replied over the phone. “We’re going to Pandoria and I need to focus on this.”

“Amelie, this could be bigger than anything we’ve even imagined. It’s bigger than the Soul Riders, than the champions. We could—”

“Carrie, really. I can’t. I have to go.”

Something felt hollow in Carrie at the answer. She dropped her shoulders and nodded. “Right. When you get back, we can talk about it then, right?”

“Yeah, sure. We can talk about it when we get back.”

“Be safe.”

“Be smart.”

And the phone call ended. Carrie rocked back in her seat, looking up at the board in front of her. Strings hung from each other as they connected a puzzle spent too long piecing together, and still, only half of it was there. Carrie let out a sigh. “This could change everything.” 

 Anne

Carrie wanted to hate the figure being brought into Saoirse’s home. She wanted to loathe the blonde haired girl as Lisa and Raven doted on her, their magic spent healing her, poking at the pink, crystalline scars over her face.

She couldn’t and she knew that. Anne hadn’t killed Elizabeth. They both had as much of a bone to pick with her killer, for their own reasons.

Alex and Saoirse had gone off in the hours after to burn off some of their feelings. Linda was supposed to be supervising this, and with no messages about information to the contrary.

The druids were silent. Valedale was silent. There was nothing to say. Evergray and Avalon had been trying to arrange an event in her honor since they had gotten home, but for so many people, there was nothing to say. It didn’t feel real.

Amelie sat, back to the wall, across from Carrie. She had been locked in silence for a while. Carrie leaned over. “Are you ok?”

“We was supposed to tell me what it meant,” Amelie muttered, swallowing back tears. “I can’t fucking believe— Aideen, how could she— why did she had to wait like that?”

“She didn’t know,” Carrie offered, though she knew it was weak. “We can find out. I think I have th—”

 “Midsummers. Litha.” Amelie got up, as distant as Pandoria. “I need to talk to Evergray.” She wandered out without another word, and Carrie felt the silence ebb in.

“Right. Midsummers then,” Carrie muttered, setting her head back on the wall as she let herself fall into the Haven.

The B Team Druids’ story will continue in The Lucky Six Campaign.

[fe4kids]

FE4 4kids: Episode 1

It’s the year 757 on the continent of Jugdral, where in the center the Kingdom of Grannvale exists. Grannvale has six duchies, each with a Crusader lineage. Ruling Granvalle is King Alexander (Azmur) but due to his old age, Prince Carl (Kurth) rules over the government. Over in the East, the town of Darna is under attack of Issacian barbarians. King Alexander (Azmur) has decided to help out Darna, and chase off the Issacians. He sent Prince Carl (Kurth) with the lords from each duchy. Only a few soldiers remained in Grannvale now, and everything seemed peaceful, until Prince James (Gandolf) of Verdane crossed the border unnoticed, and attacked Jungby Castle, kidnapping Lady Abigail (Aideen). Over at Chalphy Castle was Steven (Sigurd), who has just heard of the news, and refuses to let his childhood friend by kidnapped for testing cookies.

“I just got a report that Lady Abigail (Aideen) is in trouble! I have to do something, you guys should stay here,” said Steven (Sigurd) as he was headed out of the castle towards the horse stables. 

“Um, you’re not going alone. We’re joining you, right Alex (Alec)?” argued Nolan, one of Chaphy’s knights. 

“Yeah! There’s no way you’re going alone!” agreed Alex (Alec). Steven (Sigurd) sighed. 

“I really don’t want you guys hurt, but fine, you can join.”

“Sir! You should stop by the villages too! We don’t want them hurting the villagers too!” said a small voice. Steven (Sigurd) looked over.

“Oliver (Oifey)! What are you doing here?” he said, ready to shoo the young boy off.

“I want to come along! I know I’m only 14 and can’t fight, but I think I can help!” the young boy explained. Steven (Sigurd) thought for a few seconds. 

“Okay, you can come along as my personal advisor.”

“Oh thank you thank you thank you so much!” 

“Who’s gonna guard the castle though? We can’t all go,” Nolan (Noish) added.

“Nolan is right, for once!” Alex (Alec) said, getting a glare from Nolan (Noish), “I think we all know who’s perfect for that job!” The knights looked over at the heavily-armored man who had just joined them. “Andy (Arden)!” 

“What? Why me?” he asked with a frown. 

“You’re perfect! You’re strong, and slow! You’d only slow us down!” 

“Ouch.” 

“I’m sorry Andy (Arden), but can you please guard the castle in our place?” Steven (Sigurd) asked.

“Fine, but ‘ya gotta let me join you sometime, okay?” 

“Of course! Now, let’s depart!” With that said, Steven (Sigurd) and his men left the castle. 

Meanwhile, Castle Jungby is being attacked and everyone is trying to either fight or flee the castle. Abigail (Aideen) and her retainer, Micky (Midir) where in her room, finding a way to flee.

“Micky (Midir)! You must leave now! I can handle myself!” said Abigail (Aideen).

“No way! I’m here to protect you, not run away! I’m staying until the end!” he argues. The lady gave a sigh. 

“Okay, but-” she was interrupted by her door being broken open. She screamed in surprise.

“Hehehe, there’s the Lady Abigail (Aideen) of Jungby!” said the intruder, Prince James (Gandolf).

“Stop there! I won’t let you pass!” said Micky (Midir) as he readies his bow. James (Gandolf) laughs and knocks him out with ease. 

“Micky (Midir)!” the lady cried out. 

“How cute of him to try and protect you. You’re comin’ with me now!” 

“No! Let me go!” 

“Don’t worry, you’re perfect for testing out all my cookies. Men! You can take the castle, I don’t care what you do with it, I’m going off.” Men cheered as James (Gandolf) left the castle with Abigail (Aideen), trying to fight past his tight grip. 

Steven (Sigurd) and friends are now in sight of Castle Jungby. They’re starting to get tired, and there are still many, many, men to get past. Suddenly, the man Steven (Sigurd) was fighting caught on fire. 

“Huh? Who-” he turned around, “Andrew (Azelle)?” 

“I can’t believe we made it in time!” said the fire mage, Andrew (Azelle). 

“You look like you were in trouble, good thing we came!” said Louis (Lex), riding up from behind Andrew (Azelle). 

“You couldn’t have come at a more convenient time! I’m surprised you came all the way from Velthomer though, Andrew (Azel), is your brother really okay with this? And what about you Louis (Lex)? Is Lord Liam (Langbalt) really okay with this?” asked Steven (Sigurd).

“Nope! My father hates yours. I only came cause Andrew (Azelle) dragged me here. My father would never let me help out a Chalphy,” replied Louis (Lex).

“I didn’t check with my brother, Aaron (Arvis) either, actually, I was told not to leave the capital, but he makes me uncomfortable. I knew you’d probably be in trouble anyways, considering there aren’t many soldiers left here,” explained Andrew (Azelle). Louis (Lex) laughed. 

“Is that really the reason you wanted to go?” he asked.

“Of course it is! What else would it be?” 

“Are you sure you aren’t just here for Lady Abigail (Aideen)?” Andrew (Azelle)’s face turned red.

“Oh shut up! We all know Prince James (Gandolf) has awful baking skills and is always trying to get people to eat his cookies! If you can even call them cookies!”

“Uh-huh, you’re face is all red. Andrew (Azelle)’s got a crush!” 

“Oh knock it off! We have a battle to focus on!”

“Agreed! We’re almost to the castle now! Hopefully Lady Abigail (Aideen) is still there,” said Oliver (Oifey). With that said, Steven (Sigurd) ordered everyone to continue going towards the castle.

Meanwhile, Chalphy Castle is about to get some unexpected visitors, but currently, Andy (Arden) is alone with few soldiers. 

“I’m not that slow! How dare they call me slow! I’ll show them one day!” Andy (Arden) paused his small rant at the sight of someone coming. “Huh? Who’s that?”

“Brother! Are you here?” called out a pink-haired lady from below.

“Lady Ella (Ethlyn)! Is that you?” Andy (Arden) asked.

“Arden?” she replied. 

“Oh it really is! Hold on, I’m comin’ down!” The armored man took a long time to get down to the entrance. “Oh you brought Sir Cameron (Quan) and your little baggage boy!” 

“I am not a baggage boy! My name is Finn!” argued the knight with them.

“Where’s Steven (Sigurd)? Has he gone off already?” Ella (Ethlyn) asked. 

“Oh! Yes! He’s already left for Jungby Castle!”

“As expected,” commented Cameron (Quan). 

“Oh! We must go help him now! I’m sorry for dragging you along, my love, but Steven (Sigurd) can be a real mess, always jumping into action.” Ella (Ethlyn) said to her husband Cameron (Quan).

“Oh, I know. I know my brother-in-law well, we went to that academy in Barhara after all.”

“Can you bring me with you?” interrupted Andy (Arden). All three of them looked at each other. 

“As much as we want to, someone strong has to guard the castle,” replied Ella (Ethlyn). 

“You took so long to get down, I don’t think you’d get left behind, regardless,” said Cameron (Quan). Ella (Ethlyn) sent him a small glare for being so rude.

“Oh please, please, please! I’ll ride with baggage boy!” Andy (Arden) begged.

“No.” said Finn. 

“I don’t want to kill his horse,” muttered Cameron (Quan). Andy (Arden) looked down. 

“Oh, fine. I’ll just sit here… alone.” Ella (Ethlyn) sighed, her compassionate nature making her feel bad for the man.

“Finn, let him ride with you,” she ordered. 

“If that’s what you wish,” Finn said with a sigh. 

“Oh thank you so much, my lady!” Andy (Arden) struggled, but he eventually got on Finn’s horse, with him on it. 

Hours later, Steven (Sigurd) and company have reached the castle, and chased off any enemies inside. Abigail (Aideen) was nowhere to be found. 

“Has anyone seen Abigail (Aideen)?” asked Steven (Sigurd). 

“No sir! All that’s been found is an unconscious man,” replied Oliver (Oifey). 

“The last guy here said that the ‘Boss’ took her away to Verdane,” added Andrew (Azelle) with a grim face. 

“Verdane,” muttered Steven (Sigurd). 

“Sir! Lord Cameron (Quan) and Lady Ella (Ethlyn) have arrived!” reported Alex (Alec). Ella (Ethlyn) rushed into the room with her husband, Finn, and Andy (Arden) close behind. 

“Steven (Sigurd)! I’m so glad you’re okay! I’m always cleaning up your messes!” she said. “Cameron (Quan)! Ella (Ethlyn)!” Steven (Sigurd) replied, ignoring his sister’s insult. 

“Hey! I’m here too!” called out Andy (Arden). 

“What?” said both Nolan (Noish) and Alex (Alec) in confusion. 

“Yeah! I rode here with baggage boy!” 

“And I’m never doing it again, I’m surprised my horse is still alive,” muttered Finn. “And my name is Finn!” Alex gave sympathetic eyes towards Finn. 

“But what about Castle Chalphy?” asked Steven (Sigurd). 

“Don’t worry! It’ll be fine, there are still some soldiers guarding it. I got so bored!” This statement made Steven (Sigurd) sigh. 

“Anyways, I’m glad to see you all came.”  

“Speaking of which, can you help this poor man with your Live Staff?” Oliver (Oifey) asked. 

“Why, of course! Where is he?” Ella (Ethlyn)  answered, readying her special staff. The two left to go into a side room. 

“I’m real surprised you came, don’t you have trouble with Thracia?” asked Steven (Sigurd). 

“Yes, that’s why I only brought Finn. Have you forgotten about the pact already?” Cameron (Quan) asked. The blue-haired man gave a slight look of confusion.

“Pact?”

“Yes! Back at the academy in Barhara! You, Eddie (Eldigan) and I made an agreement that if we were ever in trouble, we’d help each other out!” 

“Right, right! Of course I haven’t forgotten!” 

“Well, we ought to continue towards Verdane then, right?”

“Yes, but first I must see who this man Oliver (Oifey) was talking about.” The two men went into the same room Ella (Ethlyn) and Oliver (Oifey) went into.

“There! He should be awake any second now!” Ella (Ethlyn) said with a small smile.

“Thank you so much!” said Oliver (Oifey). The green-haired man in front of them shifted and groaned. 

“Huh? Where am… Lady Abigail (Aideen)!” said the man, shooting up.

“Woah! Slow down!” said Oliver (Oifey), rushing towards the man.

“No! Lady Abigail (Aideen) was taken!” 

“Yes, we know. That’s why we’re here, Micky (Midir),” said Steven (Sigurd).

“Well, she isn’t here! If anything, she was taken to Verdane!” he took a small pause. “You must let me join you Lord Sigurd!” 

“You’re injured! You should rest more!” the lady argued.

“But-” 

“You can stay back with me! You have a longbow, don’t you?” said Oliver (Oifey). He looked at the healer lady. 

“I think he’ll be fine. He should be okay once we reach Verdane. Ella (Ethlyn) sighed, and nodded. 

“Thank you!” Micky (Midir) cried out. 

“Sir! Lord Aaron (Arvis) has arrived to speak with you!” Nolan (Noish) said, waiting by the door. Steven (Sigurd) exited the room to greet the man from Velthomer. Andrew (Azelle) immediately hid himself behind a wall. “Lord Aaron (Arvis)? Shouldn’t you be in Barhara?” he asked. 

“Yes, but I’ve come with a gift and message from His Majesty,” Aaron (Arvis) said. He handed him a brand-new silver sword. 

“He’s giving me this sword? What an honor!” 

“And, congratulations, His Majesty has also ordained you as a holy knight.”

“Please send him my thanks!” 

“Of course. I’ve also heard that Andrew (Azelle) has joined you. 

“Yes, I’m sorry he left behind your back, against orders.” 

“Don’t worry about it, just, please watch over him. I know he’s only my half-brother, but he means the world to me. I don’t know what I’d do if he was hurt.”

“Of course!” 

“Thank you. I’ll be off then, farewell.” With those words, Aaron (Arvis) left the castle, back towards Verdane. Everyone gathered back into the main room. Steven (Sigurd) turns around to look at everyone. 

“Alright everyone! Our next stop is Verdane! Prepare to leave!”

[four-loose-screws]

FE4 Suzuki Novelization Translation - Chapter 5 Part 3

If you would like to start from the beginning, read a missed part, etc., click here!

FE Game Script Translations - FE Novel Translations - Original FE Support Conversations - Ko-fi

———————————

Chapter 5 - The Battle in Verdane

Part 3

Both Sigurd's and Cimbaeth's armies marched onwards until they clashed.

Since it was an unexpected skirmish, neither of them had a strategy. This was a simple test of power and endurance. 

“Attaaaaaack!” Sigurd shouted and charged straight ahead.

Sigurd’s steed, Faran, darted ahead of the other cavaliers, and the two cut through the enemy line all on their own.

Sigurd had crossed blades with the Verdanians enough by now to know exactly how they fought. All they did was spin around. They knew nothing about how to defend or counterattack. So if he could just dodge their first attack, he’d be able to kill them with just one swing of his silver sword. 

Faran had also become accustomed to the Verdanian fighting style, and knew which way to turn simply from the weight Sigurd put into his thighs.

Sigurd cut down the middle enemy in the front line, then halted his charge to slaughter the enemies as they came at him, one after the other.

By the time the other cavaliers caught up, there was not a single Verdanian soldier left willing to attack Sigurd. They were all completely terrified.

'We're going to lose at this rate!' Cimbaeth thought. 'But if I can just defeat him, then I can turn things around!' 

He turned to the warriors next to him and said, "Hey, you three, distract him! While he's busy with you, I'll take him out with my hand axe!"

The warriors did as they were ordered and rushed towards Sigurd.

While the three of them fought, Cimbaeth ran around towards Sigurd's side and threw his hand axe.

It would be near impossible for Sigurd to dodge his attack.

However, Sigurd raised his shield immediately, and just barely blocked it. 

Sigurd slew the three warriors, then turned Faran and charged at Cimbaeth.

The moment realized Cimbaeth realized the blood-stained Sigurd was staring at him, he shivered.

Sigurd looked like a crimson-colored monster, and that monster was headed straight at him.

He tried to run, but his feet were frozen. All his shaking body could do was ready his axe and watch as the monster inched ever closer to him.

Suddenly, Lex ran up to Cimbaeth’s side, aimed his axe, and swung it down.

Cimbaeth had been so focused on the crimson monster that Lex was able to take him out in a single blow.

The top of Cimbaeth's head split open, and he died instantly.

"That was an amazing attack, Prince Lex."

Lex smirked at Sigurd’s words. "I was only able to pull it off because he got distracted. You were the one who put on the best show. Did you learn how to fight like that at the academy?"

"Yeah, I learned a lot there`."

“Like how the leader should charge ahead into the enemy lines on his own?”

"..."

"Hey, I knew exactly what you were thinking. Take the hit yourself, so you could lessen the damage done to your allies, even if just a little bit."

"Well, um…"

"That's what you were doing, wasn't it? You don't have to say it. But don’t think I mean to insult you. I've already decided to follow you anywhere. Even if you lead me to hell and back."

-

Sigurd’s army traveled to a nearby village so they could rest and heal the wounded.

During that time, Noish led a small unit to investigate Genoa Castle.

When they returned, Sigurd greeted them. "So, what’s the castle like?"

"There's nothing to say about the castle. It just looked like a fancy fort, and there weren't many people inside. But there was this one really strong woman…"

"A woman?"

"Yes, she wielded a sword. When we approached the castle to investigate its defenses, she came out leading the soldiers… Since she was a woman, we underestimated her powers and she killed two men in the blink of an eye. I apologize for our misjudgement."

"It’s not your fault. My orders were unclear." Sigurd ordered Noish and the other members of the reconnaissance team to take a break, then turned to Oifey, who was on standby beside him, and asked, "So, what do you think about all of that?"

"Verdane does not have any female soldiers, and no one wields swords, either. So I think she is a mercenary from another country. Also, we can tell from the fact that they came out of the castle to fight, that the castle defenses are not that strong. If they had confidence in the castle defenses, then they would keep the gate closed tight. This means it’s likely that either the gate is weak, or there’s a weak point in the castle wall. If we chose to attack the castle aggressively, we would cause a lot of damage to it, so I think we should try a decoy strategy this time.”

“A decoy strategy?”

“Yes. We should send a small unit up to the castle again. That will draw out the swordswoman. Then, the unit will run away.”

“Isn’t that exactly what Noish and the others did?”

“Noish and the others were cavaliers. The swordswoman will know that it’s pointless to chase people on horseback, and go back into the castle. Therefore, we should send infantry this time. Well, we could send cavaliers too, but it’s critical they run quickly enough not to get caught, but slowly enough not to get away. That way, the swordswoman will come out. The main unit will use that time to attack the castle.”

“You really are the reincarnation of Lord Sesar, Oifey! No, you’re even smarter than him!”

Oifey blushed at Sigurd’s praise.

-

When she received word that the Grannvalian Army was coming, Ayra climbed atop the castle wall.

This time, the scout team they’d sent was much larger, and consisted of infantry in addition to the cavalry. However, the increased numbers were not enough to concern her, and she was also reassured because there weren’t any armored units.

‘If there’s just this many of them, then we can take them.’ Ayra concluded. ‘I’ll give them hell, so they’ll give up on attacking Genoa. If I can do that, the soldiers here are sure to set Shanan free.’

“Attack!” She ordered.

The Verdanian Army shot out of the castle, with Ayra taking the lead.

Since she was waging everything on this one fight, she figured that she didn’t have to leave many soldiers to defend the castle.

“We will slaughter the Grannvalian cowards here and now!” Ayra shouted and charged at the enemy lines.

When they saw her slaughter a Grannvalian cavalier in the blink of an eye, her men all cheered a cheer that morphed into a battle cry, then they followed after her.

She didn’t know whether or not she’d scared the Grannvalians with her show of strength, but for some reason, they started running away.

“After them! Don’t let them get away!” One of the Verdanian soldiers shouted.

For the Verdanians, who’d suffered defeat after defeat at this point, there was no greater thrill than the opportunity to be the ones chasing down the enemy. 

As a woman, Ayra was shorter than everyone else, and she couldn’t keep up with the other soldiers’ running speed.

“Keep formation! Stay together!” Ayra shouted, but no one heard her. Knowing there was nothing else she could do, she ran after them.

The Grannvalians ran as fast as they could, making it impossible to trap them. Any Verdanian soldiers who managed to catch up were quickly picked off by cavaliers. However, since the cavaliers kept moving the entire time, they were able to run away as quickly as they attacked.

“Get back here, everyone!” Ayra shouted as loudly as she could, but her voice could no longer reach them. And she knew that even if they did hear her, they’d already been consumed by their lust for battle. They’d no longer listen.

‘I need to do something to save them!’ Ayra continued to run, but her allies were already being taken out, one by one.

Before she knew it, she was the only one left.

The enemies stopped running, and began to form proper battle lines.

She knew she’d fallen right into their trap.

‘I’ll take out as many of them as I can on my own!’ 

She stopped running, and waited for them to come at her. However, they didn’t budge even an inch.

“Mercenaries give up the fight once the castle has fallen. Don’t try to force her to fight after that.” Ayra had no way of knowing, but that was what Sigurd had ordered the decoy unit to do before the battle began.

Now that this battle had come to a halt, Ayra returned to her senses.

‘They must have sent another unit to attack the castle! I need to protect Shanan!’ 

She slowly started to turn around.

Once she’d confirmed that no one would follow her, she made a break for the castle.

‘Stay safe, Shanan. I’m coming.’

-

Once the Verdanian Army was a good distance from the castle, the smaller, but main unit, set out to attack Genoa Castle.

Since Verdane had been at peace for a very long time, there were weak points all over the castle. The castle wall was particularly low in the back, so everyone was easily able to climb it.

When they realized that the castle had been invaded, the remaining Verdanian soldiers lost all fighting spirit and surrendered.

Sigurd searched each and every room of the castle for Aideen.

His search led him to one locked door. He tore it down, and inside was not Aideen, but a boy.

“Who are you?” Sigurd asked.

The boy responded with his own question. “Are you from Grannvale!?”

“I am.”

‘No! Ayra lost!’

Tears welled up in his eyes, but he held them back. He remembered his grandfather, King Mananan’s, words. ‘A prince of Isaach must never cry before others. You must always maintain the honor and bravery of a warrior.’

‘If I am to be killed here, then I must die with dignity! I am a prince of Isaach!’

“I am Prince Shanan of Isaach. Go ahead, kill me.”

The man before him raised an eyebrow. “Why would I kill you? ...Oh, because Grannvale and Isaach are at war. Still, I have no reason to kill a child. Even if you are a prince of Isaach.”

“But you killed Ayra!” Shanan screamed before bursting into tears.

“Ayra?”

“My aunt! She died so you can get in here!”

“Oh, the swordswoman?”

“Yes! You killed her!”

“No, we didn’t.”

“Liar!”

“At least, I ordered my soldiers not to kill her.”

“But you did kill her!”

“Come with me! If we hurry, we might make it to her before it’s too late!” Sigurd grabbed Shanan’s hand, rushed out of the main castle building, and put Shanan atop his horse.

“You’ve been working hard, Faran. This is the last ride for today, I promise. I’m counting on you.” 

Faran neighed and ran off at full speed.

Sigurd’s determination taught Shanan for the first time what it truly meant to be a knight. “Mister, Aunt Ayra pushed herself to fight for my sake. Please don’t kill her!”

“I won’t. But please, don’t call me mister. Makes me feel old.”

“Sorry. What should I call you then?”

“Sigurd is fine. And I’ll call you Shanan.”

When Sigurd finished his sentence, Shanan noticed someone running towards them. “Oh! That’s Ayra! She’s safe!”

Sigurd ordered Faran to stop in front of Ayra, then waited for her to catch up to them.

She raised her sword between exhausted breaths. “L-Let him go, y-you Granvalian dog!”

“Wait, Ayra! This person saved me!”

“What!? ...Is that true?”

“It is! Put your sword down, Ayra. You don’t have to fight anymore.”

“Princess Ayra, I am Prince Sigurd of Chalphy. Prince Shanan told me that you didn’t really want to fight. If that’s true, then you can sheathe your sword. Our countries may be at war, but I don’t want to fight you. I guarantee Prince Shanan’s safety. I don’t know what the outcome of this war will be, but I want to see Prince Shanan return home and claim the throne one day. I promise to do whatever I can to make that happen. So please, lay down your sword.”

“And what if your king told you to kill him!?”

“I haven’t reported to my king that the prince is with me.”

“Would you!?”

“I’ve only been ordered to fight Verdane.”

Ayra paused to think. “I know you aren’t lying because you brought Shanan to me alone. However, before I lay down my sword, I want you to do one thing for me. Swear on your blade that you will protect Shanan with your life.”

Sigurd let Shanan down from his horse, then unsheathed his sword and kissed the blade. “I, Prince Sigurd of Chalphy, swear to protect Prince Shanan of Issach with my life.”

“Thank you.” Ayra handed the hilt of her sword to Sigurd.

“In return, I offer you my sword. I, Princess Ayra of Isaach, swear my loyalty to you, Prince Sigurd of Chalphy.”

“Thank you, Princess Ayra.” Sigurd said and turned her sword around to give it back to her.

Ayra took her sword and sheathed it. “But understand that this vow is not eternal. Once Shanan returns to Isaach, if we went to war with Grannvale again, then I would be your enemy. Are we clear?”

[ginnyzero]

Completely Harmless Ch. 52

Completely Harmless An SSO SilverGlade Re-imagining Story (Or Fix it Fan Salt fic) By Ginny O.

When Lily and her friends wanted to buy horses and were directed to the Silverglade Manor and its myriad of problems, they didn’t expect to start a revolution. They were just a bunch a stable girls. Completely harmless. Right?

A/N: Things are only canon if I say they’re canon. Pre-Saving the Moorland Stables compliant for the most part. Posted in its entirety on my website. Posted in 2000 to 4000 word bits here. Rated T for Swearing Word Count 177,577

Chapter Fifty-Two The Power of Aideen

The Running Bulls and the Timber Wolves joined them at the West Jorvik Highway. One of the Singing Swans was waiting for them at the end of the Secret Pass.

“We’ve cleared out the wood and rock traps,” she reported. “They’re building a barricade across the gap at the end. But it’s not a very good one.”

“We’ve got ropes, hammers, and axes,” the Ranger said.

“Good luck with the geysers,” the girl said and mounted her horse joining the procession. “Amelia is currently distracting the G.E.D. site leader with some mocked up orders from Ms. Drake. We’ve handled enough of her reports that we can forge them pretty well.” She wrinkled her nose.

Lily dropped back to report that to the Baroness.

“A for initiative,” the Baroness said and rolled up her window.

Baron Winterwell waited for them at the end of the main entrance of the site with the New Hillcrest Bulldogz in their new green show jumping outfits.

Ami, of the Red Pandas in red and gold, waved at the Rangers. “There’s another exit this way. The rest of the club is there waiting. Follow me.”

Using walkie talkies, they organized and then, sprung the trap.

They swooped down in all directions on the G.E.D. camp like avenging angels. The Baroness in her car with a group of Ranger vehicles taking the main entrance, while more Ranger Vehicles blocked off any other avenue of escape to the Cauldron.

“Open up in the name of Baron Winterwell,” the Master Ranger ordered.

Amelia backed her horse away from the G.E.D. Leader.

He sputtered. “This is private property.”

“This is property of the Baron, and you will remove your gate,” the Master Ranger said. “Or we will move it for you.”

Amelia looked at him. “You better do as they say,” she said. “Or do you want Ms. Drake to find out.”

The man turned red. He opened the gate.

“Arrest him,” the Master Ranger ordered.

“Yes ma’am,” the other rangers said. They took the sputtering G.E.D. site leader and his guards into custody, cuffing them and putting them into the trucks.

Word spread quickly. Employees tried to flee only to be blocked off on every side and have Rangers climb up into the equipment to shut it down. At least one bulldozer ran into one of the buildings under construction toppling it.

They got to the wall.

Grabbing ladders from the site, they hooked them together and started climbing, setting explosives as they went. They looked over the top of the wall and blanched. Smoke roiled around. Screams and shouts came out muffled.

They scrambled down the ladders and took them away.

“Fire in the hole,” Regina shouted.

They pressed down on the electric fuse.

The entire mountain shook as the explosives went out, rock flew and tumbled downwards forming a hole and sliding down the hill. Everyone scrambled out of the way.

“Get a bulldozer in here,” A ranger shouted. “Masks on!”

One of the rangers ran a bulldozer through it, clearing out the debris. Everyone put their masks on. Alex, Linda, and Lily were first through the hole.

Lily held up her hand clenched around the Sun Fragment of Aideen. It flared to life, pushing back the darkness caused by the smoke and the haze.

Alex shouted. “All right, I’m going to form a path. While you can go through the walls of my wards, the dark entities can’t. So, if you do leave it, grab whoever you intend to grab and get back to the path quickly.”

Light sputtered around her, flashing and sparking. Then walls appeared. A white circle formed at her feet and it had the symbol of the lightning circle in it. Magenta walls of energy sprang up an armslength to either side of her.

Alex seemed to know where the village was supposed to be because her footsteps were sure.

Linda started playing the harp.

“Follow the sound of the harp, follow the light,” Lily shouted. “Follow the sound of my voice!”

Alex found the center of the village. “Okay, I’m going to try and create a holding space here,” she said and shut her eyes concentrating.

Tin Can trotted through the shield and put his nose on her shoulder.

“Thanks buddy,” she said and patted his nose.

Like legs out of an insect’s body, more pathways appeared as Alex tried to stretch them to each house.

Balls of darkness pushed up against the pathways.

Lily stepped towards them with the Sun Fragment in her hand.

They screamed and retreated.

The girls and the rangers went down each path, peering into the smoke, finding people sometimes in the path, huddled up coughing and crying. They slipped masks on them and helped them out of the village.

As they came closer to the music and Linda, they calmed. Their sobs lessened and the fear of their faces faded.

“Keep playing Linda,” Lily encouraged her. She walked around the edge of the big shielded area shouting into the smoke and holding up the light.

People stumbled, or they crawled into the shield if the Rangers weren’t barging into houses and helping them out.

“That’s everyone,” the Master Ranger said to Alex.

“Alex, get a shield up around the village,” Lily said.

“As planned,” Alex said and shifted her stance.

“Get out,” Lily said. “We’ve got to get these monsters back where they belong.”

The Master Ranger furrowed her brow.

“We’re more protected than you are,” Linda said. “Go!”

The Master Ranger ran out.

Alex let the shields flicker once, twice, and then they died before reforming around the village trapping the dark entities inside with the smoke.

“Okay, we got to find that rift,” Lily shouted.

“Follow the smoke,” Linda suggested.

They ran around trying to find the origin of the smoke, and it was a large mine shaft drilled under the village proper. It actually spiraled downwards towards the heart of the mountain. “What in hell?” Alex shouted as they got further downwards.

The rift was at the bottom, belching smoke and glowing magenta.

“Okay, Alex, I’m going to herd the shadows here. Make yourself someplace safe so you can start draining the rift as soon as I’m done. Linda, with me!”

Lily and Linda ran back up the spiral as Alex found a place to hide behind some debris.

Lily ran to the opposite side of the village. “Okay, herding time.” She shut her eyes. The light of Aideen grew brighter.

The shadows screamed.

Lily walked forward.

Linda played the harp. The shadows didn’t like the harp. It made them slow, drained them of their energy. The light caged them in. The Tin Can, Meteor, and Starshine ran around kicking at them with their hooves as they tried to get away.

More and more dark shadowy orbs came together and merged to try and become stronger, but the more they did this, the easier they became to herd. Lily and Linda urged them down the mining shaft.

Seeing their only escape was back into Pandoria, they broke apart and flew into it one right after the other.

A huge wind blew forcing the smoke and the haze in after them.

Lily and Linda plastered themselves to the walls it wouldn’t knock them down. Linda clutched the harp to her chest. Her eyes wide but she still plucked at the strings.

Alex crawled over and started taking the rift’s energy. Sweat rolled off her forehead as the pink light began to fade. The wind stopped.

Lily came over and this time held up the Star Fragment.

“Keep playing Linda!”

The Star Fragment sparkled.

The rift turned black and the magenta light faded.

The Star Fragment flared to life and then even the black pandoric stone shriveled up and disappeared.

Alex sat back onto her rump and panted. “Never have I ever,” she managed between heaving breaths.

Lily took her hand.

And all the energy Alex had just taken flowed into her.

Lily’s eyes glowed. She knew what she had to do next. She didn’t know how. She just did. Instinct, she supposed. She left the cave going up the spiral. The air in Hillcrest was clear, and crisp and clean. You could see all the houses and the trees from one side to the other. The stone wall loomed over it even with the section gone in the middle.

Lily stepped out, the Star Fragment still clutched in her fist. She took off her mask no longer needing it.

People were in groups sitting and leaning against each other. Blankets wrapped around them despite the warmness of the day. Some laying down in rows as emergency personal went over them checking vitals.

Lily went to the end of the line of people who were laying down. “Hi,” she said.

“Hi, you, you saved us,” the person coughed.

Lily took their hand and held the Star Fragment over their chest. “We all did. It took everyone,” she said.

The Star Fragment sparkled and they drifted down over the person. Their eyes widened as their cough disappeared and they could breathe easier.

“You’re going to be all right now,” Lily said as she squeezed their hand and moved on.

“Wait,” they sat up.

Down the line Lily went, holding hands and murmuring reassurances that they were going to be okay. The Star Fragment never stopped sparkling as it healed the people she talked to.

The Baroness and the Baron Winterwell knelt next to one woman.

“They lured me there saying there was trouble,” she wheezed.

“Easy Elaine,” Baron Winterwell murmured.

“No. No. I have to tell you. They refused to let us out. Barricaded us in with their equipment. They knew it was wrong. That Ms. Drake ordered it herself. She asked me to come look at things and then blocked me up inside so I couldn’t stop her. She’s going to try and level Jarlaheim.” Elaine rasped. “I was in the way. She needed to get rid of me.”

“Mayor Elaine,” Lily said as she knelt by her.

Elaine turned her head.

Lily held out her hand.

Elaine took it gingerly.

“Welcome back,” Lily said as she held the Star Fragment over her chest.

“Who, who are you?”

“I’m Lily. I’m here to help.” Lily smiled at her. “You need to rest. You’ve been very brave.”

The sparkles swirled around Elaine.

Elaine started to breathe easier. Her skin turned a better hue instead of pale and grey. The yellow in her eyes cleared.

“Jarlaheim needs you. Jack Goldspur is something of a mess and his sister Jill is a great second in command. I think she’d make a great successor one day.” Lily squeezed her hand.

“Wait,” Mayor Elaine sat up. “Wait, Ms. Lily.”

“There are others who need my help, Mayor Elaine,” Lily chided. Or was it Lily? It was hard to tell.

“Yes. Help them,” Elaine said. “I’m sorry.”

Lily smiled and left to tend to those still able to sit up.

Linda helped Alex out of Hillcrest.

An emergency responder ran over.

“She’s fine,” Linda said. “She’s just tired. She used up a lot of energy. She needs food.”

Behind them, Meteor whickered.

“Yes, we all need food,” Linda laughed. “Greedy guts.”

They put a blanket around Alex and one of the girls ran down to the Stormgarden for Miso Soup.

As Lily finished with the last group of people, she swayed.

“Lily!” Linda shouted. She ran over and caught her.

The light faded from Lily’s eyes. “We saved them,” she murmured and passed out.

FOR THE ACCOMPANYING IMAGES PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE MY WATERMARK AND CONTACT INFORMATION. THANK YOU. I get it. Some of you might get excited and want to see this stuff in the game, especially the clothes, tack, and pets. However, the only way I want to see this in the game is if I get paid for it. If I see it in the game and I’m not paid for it, there will be hell to pay. You think I’m salty. I’d be angry. Personally, I’m not going to send this info to SSO. If you do, leave my contact information there! Don’t give them any excuses to steal.

Now, I’ll know you haven’t read this note if you leave me comments about how ‘salty’ I am about the game and if I hate it so much I should do something else. I am doing something else. It’s called Mystic Riders MMORPG Project. Mystic Riders however is a very baby phase game. You can check out our plans on the game dev blog. (Skills, Factions, Professions, Crafting, Mini-Games, 25+ horse breeds!) If you know anyone who would be interested and has money or contacts about game making, direct them to the blog.

[four-loose-screws]

FE4 Suzuki Novelization Translation - Chapter 5 Part 7

If you would like to start from the beginning, read a missed part, etc., click here!

FE Game Script Translations - FE Novel Translations - Original FE Support Conversations - Ko-fi

———————————

Chapter 5 - The Battle in Verdane

Part 7

Noish returned from his regular scouting duty, and reported, “There are very few soldiers stationed at Marpha Castle. We got very close to the castle wall, yet no one tried to attack us.”

-

Ever since his army had been taken out, Gandolf kept himself locked up in his room.

‘My woman ran away, my men are gone… what the hell is with my luck!?’

After enduring one loss after another, he didn't even talk to the remaining soldiers stationed at the castle anymore, so they'd completely lost their loyalty to him and did whatever they pleased.

-

With that information, Sigurd's army decided to march towards Marpha Castle and conquer it.

Since Aideen didn't have any offensive capabilities, she traveled slowly with the rear line.

"Lady Aideen!"

She whirled around to see where the voice had come from, and saw Dew running up to her. "What is it, Dew? I thought you'd left already."

"I did, well kinda. But then I found somethin' really interestin', and wanted to give it to you!" He offered her an ornate staff.

"Hm? Is this what I think it is?”

"I just know you'll be able to use it!"

Aideen took it in her hands, and knew immediately what it was when it's power flowed through her veins. "Oh my, this is a Warp Staff! Do you know what would happen if I used it on you?"

"..."

"You'd fly to an allied castle in an instant."

"Don't pull my leg, Aideen! No I wouldn't!"

"Of course you would. Anyway, thank you. This staff could be very helpful. Where did you find it?"

"Where? Um… over there. I betcha it fell from the heavens just for you!"

'You don't just find something like this lying around.' Aideen thought. 'It was probably in the treasury of one of the local village churches.'

"I know you don't believe in a thief's vow, but they really are true!"

"Well, I suppose…"

"I was gonna go wherever the wind takes me, but I couldn't! All thieves do is lie! I wanna make a vow for once in my life, and stick to it! They got a big fancy word for that! It's uh… um… 'mortals!' Yeah! I wanna have 'mortals!'"

"...I think the word you're looking for is 'morals.'"

"Yeah, that's it! 'Morals!' It might make up for all my lies…"

"And you intend to honor that vow?"

"Uh-huh! Whenever I'm havin' trouble, I always find myself comin' straight to you, Aideen!"

"Is that so? Sounds like more trouble for me than you…"

"I can't help it! I just… want to be around you, for some reason…" As he spoke, his eyes looked entirely serious.

"I see. Then please stay with me until you feel satisfied that you've made up for all your past wrongdoings."

Surprise lit up Dew's face. "Yeah! Yup, I sure will! You know, I'm pretty useful. Say, the army probably needs a lot of money…"

"But you can't steal! We aren't fighting for our own gain!"

"I know that! I'll only take money from guys doin' bad stuff to get it. That’ll make me a good thief, and I won't be doin' nothin' wrong!"

-

When Sigurd's army reached Marpha Castle, Sigurd didn't even have to lead his soldiers into battle, nor unsheathe his sword.

Not one soldier came out to oppose them as they slowly raised the gate and entered the main building.

Once inside, Sigurd heard a woman scream. "No, don't! Please, let me go!"

He followed the voice and saw two soldiers dragging a young woman into a room.

"Aw, don’t say that! This is the last time, we promise! Just keep us company for a little while!"

"The fighting is over! I must return home to the forest! Let me go!!"

"Shut up! Keep complaining, and you'll pay for it!"

"Hey, what are you two doing!? Let her go!"

The soldiers whirled around to see a tall cavalier and all his soldiers standing before them. And they quickly recognized the glittering emblem on the leader's chest: he was a Crusader of Grannvale.

"Oh shit!" They gasped and ran off in a panic.

"Are you alright, miss?"

"Yes, thank you." She said, then took a good look at the face of the man who'd just saved her. "Are you, by any chance… Lord Sigurd?"

"Yes, I am, but why do you ask?" He'd never seen her before. She had lavender hair and eyes that he soon lost himself in. 

"There was a woman here named Aideen, who talked about you."

"Aideen talked about me?"

"Yes, she told me about how different you are from other men… and after meeting you… I know right away that she was right."

"What’s your name?"

She suddenly lost her composure at the question. "I'm sorry. ...I must… return home…"

"Wait, hold on! Surely we can talk for a little while longer, can't we…?"

"I'm sorry… really, truly, I am. But… I'm happy… to have met you." She took one last look at him, then dashed out of the room.

"Wait, at least tell me why you have to go so soon!" He had to run past all of his men, slowing him down. By the time he reached the exit to the building, she was already a speck in the distance.

Shanan approached Sigurd before he could go any further. "Lord Sigurd, the village elders are here to greet you." Behind him were three elderly people.

The elders walked up to Sigurd and bowed deeply.

"Do you know who that woman was that just ran away?"

They all stared at him, stunned by the sudden question.

"Um… she had light purple hair."

"Oh, yes, her! I heard her say she was returning home to the forest…"

"Yes, her name is Deirdre. She is the maiden of the Spirit Forest." The elder standing behind the other two said.

"Deirdre…" He said, and recalled her image in his mind. 'She was so beautiful…'

The elder smirked and said. "Oh ho ho, I see you have a weakness for beautiful women as well, Lord Sigurd! You fell in love with her at first sight, didn't you?"

"Don't tease me like that, Elder. ...But I do wonder where this Spirit Forest is."

"Are you asking me? If so, I'll tell you what I know."

"If it won't be too much trouble for you, then please do."

"The Spirit Forest is a very thick forest located northwest of here. Within it is a hidden village, and that's where she lives, or so I've heard. No one besides her knows for sure where it is, so I can't say I know anything else about it."

"I see…"

Upon seeing the disappointment in Sigurd's face, the elder added, "There is a village that's very close to the edge of the forest. Someone there may be able to tell you more."

"Thank you, sir. ...Oh, I apologize for not introducing myself properly. I am Sigurd, current leader of the Grannvalian Army in Verdane. I strongly prohibit my soldiers from pillaging and other improper acts, but if you three need anything, please do not hesitate to ask."

-

Jamke ordered his unit to spread out in the forest, then took the lead and traveled down a small path.

About halfway to Marpha Castle, he spotted a group of several enemies.

He readied an arrow, and shouted, "Leave this country now, Grannvalians!"

The enemies continued to advance, so he shot his arrow. It pierced the enemy leader's chest, and he fell where he stood. The others all panicked and ran off.

If the Grannvalians had entered the forest, that meant Marpha Castle had already fallen. Jamke's unit wasn't very big, so he knew he had no chance of winning against an army that could defeat the large unit at the castle if they fought out in the open.

He was entirely prepared to die.

'However, before I breathe my last, I must show them the true spirit of Verdane, and take out as many of them as I can by myself!'

He continued along, and soon saw even more enemies. "Leave this country now, Grannvalians!"

He aimed his bow and shot an arrow at the gap in the enemy's armor near his neck. This attack caused these enemies to run away as well.

-

The soldiers that had encountered Jamke returned to Marpha Castle and reported that an exceptional archer was leading the incoming enemy unit.

"Is it Prince Jamke?" Aideen asked.

"He is an even more exceptional shot than Jungby's arch knights."

"Then it is him! He left to go convince King Batu to stop the fighting, but it seems he himself was convinced to start fighting again." 

"I'll go." Midir said. "I will avenge Jungby's honor, and kill him."

"Midir, you can't go."

"Why not!?" Midir asked, enraged.

Deep down, he was jealous of Jamke and whatever had happened between him and Aideen when he set her free. Even though Midir did not know the details, whenever he heard the prince's name, he felt the pain of a thousand needles assault his body.

Aideen knew that very well, and was why she looked up at him, and said gently, "Midir, please understand how I feel. I don't want you to die." She stared him straight in the eye as she spoke, and couldn't bring herself to say anything beyond that. 

“A great shot like you would be at a disadvantage fighting in the middle of a forest, where you can't move around much. I think it would be better for you to wait outside the forest." Shanan suggested, trying to break the tension.

Midir reluctantly agreed.

-

Sigurd's army quickly prepared for battle and left the castle.

Aideen placed herself not in the rear line, but right next to Sigurd.

"It's dangerous up here! Stand back!"

"I know. If you designate someone to talk to Jamke, then I’ll go back to the rear line.” She promised, but deep down, it was a lie.

'If he knew exactly what I was trying to do, he'd have someone make sure I stayed back there for good.' She thought.

They marched on until Jamke's unit jumped out from the forest.

Jamke ran towards them, then shouted, "Leave this country now, Grannvalians!"

When she saw him, Aideen sprinted towards him. Because she had done it so spontaneously, no one could move in time to try and stop her.

"No, Aideen! It's too dangerous!"

At the sight of enemy movement, the Verdanian soldiers raised their weapons.

"Halt! I'll take care of this woman!" Jamke yelled, and aimed an arrow at Aideen.

Sigurd tried to chase after her, but stopped Faran from going any further when he saw Jamke raise the arrow. He feared that with one wrong move from himself, Jamke would shoot the arrow.

"You tricked me!" Jamke screamed.

"No, I didn't!" She screamed back even louder, refusing to lose to the volume of his voice.

"Then why didn't you stop Grannvale!?"

"We received an order from our king! One that I didn't know about before! There's another man like Sandima in Grannvale, too! I'm sure of it!"

"You expect me to believe that!?"

"If you don't, then go ahead, shoot me straight through the heart." Aideen took one step forward.

When she saw that he wasn't trying to shoot, she took another step forward.

"I came to apologize to you. And… to stop the fighting between us once more…" She continued to walk forwards.

"I can't let you trick me this time!" His yelling this time was closer to screeching. His arm holding the bow string started to shake.

"At the very least, please, let's not fight now." Aideen held back tears, making her voice quiver. "Why must we kill each other!? We've turned into Sandima's puppets… Why must so many people die without good reason?"

"..."

"If you fight here, you'll die! I wouldn't be able to take it! If you must fight, then kill me first. I don't want to see you die.”

Now, they were so close to each other that they didn't have to shout, yet Aideen's voice still got all the louder.

"If you must fight, then fight Sandima and all of his allies in Valhalla! Please, please stop fighting! There's already been enough killing!"

Now, there were only a few steps between them.

Jamke tossed his bow aside. "Aideen, I can't kill you." He walked past Aideen's side, and called out to Sigurd, "Prince Sigurd, if you swear to me that your true enemy is Sandima and Sandima alone, then I will call a ceasefire!"

"I swear it on my life, Prince Jamke." Sigurd replied. "We have no reason to fight King Batu. When Sandima is dead, we will stop."

"What about your king's orders?"

"I will report that Sandima was the cause of all of this. If he still orders us to fight, then I will side with Verdane, and fight Grannvale."

"Alright then, I'm calling a ceasefire. We'll fight Sandima, together." Jamke turned around to face his unit and said, "You heard him, everyone! I will fight Sandima with Prince Sigurd. If you dissent, then go home to Verdane. If you intend to fight me, do it now."

His soldiers gathered around him. "Prince Jamke, we're going with you. We don't like that Sandima guy either! Let’s kick his ass!"

[writingonjorvik]

The B Team Druids - Chapter 4 - The Storm

There was a series of hills behind Moorland’s riding ring. A few jumps had been set up years ago, though only the championship really utilized the sharp bends. Moorland was more of a training stable than a competitive one from what Carrie had gathered, so a very difficult competition wouldn’t have been helpful for most of the boarders. Or used. As such, this portion of the Moorland ground was in some weedy disrepair and and not often watched.

Ash snorted nervously as Carrie held onto the mare’s bridle as well as Justin’s horse in her other hand. The gelding paced the ground, watching Justin walking down the beach just as intently as Carrie was.

Waiting at the dock was a massive barge, Sabine waiting on the boat with her own horse and a group of shady looking men loading the boat up. She and Justin spoke for a moment before he climbed onto the flatbed of the ship. Carrie wondered why they needed to travel by such a big ship and not just take a little sailboat, but she guessed Sabine probably couldn’t get her horse on a sailboat.

The waves crashed on the hard metal sides. Shouts came from on deck and the docks. A nervous feeling shot through Carrie’s spine, something telling her to stop this. She shook her head, pushing out that voice. Passing both bridles to one hand, Carrie pulled out her phone. “All good?” she texted to Justin.

From where she was standing she could see Justin reaching for his phone. A moment later a buzz came from her palm. “So far.”

As the boat pulled out of the dock, Justin’s horse started pacing hard, drawing up his front legs. Carrie had to let go of Ash to calm the gelding, wrapping her arm around him to comfort him. “Hey, woah, hey. It’s ok, Seasalt. He’s ok.”

Beside her, Ash snorted in contempt. Carrie glared. “Thanks for the support.”

Despite Ash’s protests, Seasalt did relax as the barge started to pull off from the docks. When the horse finally seemed calm, Carrie climbed up into Ash’s saddle. From her perch atop the pony, she could see Justin waving back at her. Carrie raised her hand to wave back, sending him as good a send off as she could manage from her hiding place.

It was supposed to be a secret. As nervous as it made Justin to go alone in the first place, he knew if anyone else found out he was leaving, his father would step in, and the opportunity would be shut off from him entirely. Carrie was going to take Seasalt to Steve’s tonight and let the horse there until Justin got back. If anyone asked around, she’d pretend she didn’t know.

Or that was their plan. She wasn’t sure if she’d be able to keep up ignorance about Justin’s location for long. She wasn’t much of a liar.

Just as Carrie was about to start pulling Seasalt away, the air went tense. An electric pulse spread out like a heavy blanket, pressing down like a fog. Carrie twisted around in her saddle, expecting to see Saoirse coming out of nowhere. Instead she saw a blonde sorrel, stocky horse racing down the trail from Nilmer’s Highlands, not Saoirse’s chestnut Icelandic. Sparks were trailing off behind the horse as the rider wheeled the two towards the beaches.

Not far behind came a second rider, though before Carrie could pick out their features, Seasalt yanked himself free of Carrie’s grasp. The reins cut across Carrie’s palm as the gelding yanked himself free, breaking into a panicky race for the beach. Her palm went a hard red, lucky to not have been cut.

With Seasalt sprinting for the beach, and two mystery riders closing in from the other side, Carrie didn’t know what to do. She urged Ash into a gallop to rush after Seasalt, and the mare gladly responded, climbing up through the gaits. Ash nearly vaulted herself off the side of the cliff as Carrie leaned into the turn towards the beach and rounded them off the hill.

No matter how fast Ash could have gone though, she couldn’t have caught up with Seasalt, who cleared the gap between the dock and the barge with ease. The gelding trotted towards-- Sabine? Carrie slowly, watching Justin waving, practically ignoring Seasalt’s presence. The gelding went very stiff by Sabine’s horse, almost frozen.

Ash also couldn’t have caught up on the blonde sorrel and their rider. The rider pulled her horse to a stop at the edge of the grass, her grey beanie and dirty blonde hair jostled by the sea breeze.

The tension died in the air, fizzling out as the rider stopped. Almost defeated. It just faded as the rider watched the barge sailing away, as if the attempt would be pointless. Carrie could hear the other rider approaching, not nearly as fast as this one had approached, but still quickly. She should probably have run, but the rider-- She knew them. How did she know them?

That beanie, like something out of a dream, something she knew out of a dream. You can’t dream a face you’ve never seen though, Carrie thought to herself, watching the back of the rider’s head.

As Carrie waited there, she watched the rider start to turn her head. They nearly made eye contact before the rider looked away. The other rider had caught up. Carrie turned away, wanting to watch Justin sail off, but unable to draw herself to look at the riders on the edge of the beach now blocking the view. So instead, Carrie fell into the trail of the championship, just another idle rider out practicing for a race. The eyes found somewhere else to look.

Rounding the bend of the stable walls, Carrie pulled Ash to a halt. The world went shaky around her, her sight going blurry. What had happened? Seasalt was a casual riding horse, one of the gentlest at the stables. For him to just bolt like that... And how he had gone stockstill once he was on the barge, that wasn’t normal.

Carrie pulled out her phone. “Sorry, he got lose.”

Nothing. Carrie’s hand hovered over the keypad for a minute, waiting for a response. “Seasalt ok?”

Still nothing.

“Are you ok?”

After minutes of silence, Carrie forced herself to believe that there was no reception out in the bay. She shoved her phone back in her bag and kicked Ash on, riding past the stables gates and on up the hill towards Steve’s farm. Even without Seasalt, her mind just broke into auto-pilot about how this afternoon should have gone.

What had happened back there? Who was Sabine, and what did she do to Seasalt? Possibly to Justin? Who were those riders? What did they have to do with any of this? What was that tension in the air? It had felt like the day with Raven and Saoirse, but stronger. So much stronger than whatever Saoirse has done, yet there were no clouds.

“I’m actually losing it,” Carrie murmured, bringing herself to. She looked around, noticing the local smithy down the hill. Justin had said Conrad believed in this Keepers of Aideen faith. Maybe she couldn’t get answers about what had happened on the beach, but maybe she could get some answers on why that name kept ringing in her mind. Even old timey religions were sounding more normal than processing whatever had just happened. And talking to someone was easier than working through what had just happened in front of her.

Leaving Ash at the edge of the small working area, Carrie walked towards the open air tables where she saw Conrad working on refining the details on metal ornament. When Carrie got close enough, the older man looked up. “Afternoon. You’re one of the hands over at Thomas’s, correct?”

“Yeah, that’s me,” Carrie replied. “I’ve been over a few times to get some of Jenna’s orders. I’m Carrie.”

“Carrie,” Conrad repeated, nodding. “Sorry, not one for names.”

“Don’t...don’t worry about it,” Carrie said, trying to smile. It was so fake though, she wondered how Conrad didn’t notice.

Conrad returned to his ornament. “I don’t have anything for Thomas right now.”

“Actually I wanted to see if I could ask you about something,” Carrie replied, taking a step closer. “Um, I heard you, um, believed in this local religion. I’ve never heard of, and if you didn’t mind, I wanted to see if you would mind telling me a little about it.”

The blacksmith gave Carrie a sideways glance as he continued with his work. “The Keepers? Sure. What do you want to know?”

“Who is Aideen, I guess is the best start? And what are these Signs?” Carrie inquired, stepping even closer. Conrad looked up at her again, and Carrie stepped back. “Sorry, I don’t want to pry.”

“You’re fine, most of the time when people are eager to learn about the Keepers though they visit Valedale, or Dundall,” Conrad answered. “Aideen is the goddess of Jorvik. She created this island, blessed it with life and horses. Most people who believe in Aideen don’t believe in the Keepers though. The Keepers protect Aideen’s holy relics, or those that aren’t on display in the capitol. Suppose they’re like monks.”

“And the Signs?” Carrie repeated.

“I don’t know about Signs, not for the Keepers at least, but I know they have Circles based on the blessings Aideen gives to her chosen. Say everyone is blessed to be part of one of those Circles, so I suppose that’s their Signs,” Conrad said, raising up his work to study it. “I’ve dabbled in their Moon Circle, the Circle of scholars and craft. But I’m not nearly as active as I used to be. Not old enough for it anymore.” He laughed, setting down the curled piece of metal. “Besides, Aideen tends to bless young ladies. Really learning their magic would have meant I spent my whole life studying it, and I’ve always known this was my craft. A few tomes in the library was enough to satisfy me, but I’m no druid.”

“What about the other Circles, what are they about?”

“Star is the Circle of healers and muses,” Conrad stated, picking up another hammer from his bench. As he started tapping out a few more details, he continued, “I believe Sun is the Circle of spies and travel. Lightning is the Circle of warriors and runes. Might have a few of those mixed up.”

“And Aideen? She doesn’t have a Circle?” Carrie inquired.

Conrad paused for a moment and then laughed. “No, suppose she doesn’t. Of course, no one has ever been blessed by Aideen’s Sign, the Light. I guess if they were, then they’d be able to tap into any of the other Circles of magic. Or dreams. I think Aideen had a thing for dreams, but I’m not a true druid for a reason. You’d have to visit the heads of the order over in Valedale to answer those questions.”

Carrie ran back through everything Conrad had told her. She had expected something to snap into place, like all of the other sudden things that had happened to her. But nothing. That same uneasy feeling sat there about the Keepers, this same curiosity about who they were and what they did. Sure, the symbols she had been seeing had meaning, and she knew a goddess’s name, but no magical ephianany.

“Thank you, Conrad,” Carrie finally said. “I appreciate it. That’s really interesting. It’s not like any other religions I’ve heard of.”

“Sure,” Conrad answered, his attention still on his work. The blacksmith stood up, picking up an unworked bar of metal and a hammer. “Though I don’t know if Aideen can help with colds. I think you might need a better diet for that.”

“Wh-what?”

Conrad laid the ingot of iron over his fire. “You’re looking awful pale. I hope you’re eating right. Hate for a cold to go around the stables.”

Carrie reached up and pressed a hand to her check, as if it would tell her the color of her skin. “I, uh-- That’s not why-- I was just curious in general. Thank you, sir. Have a good day.” She attempted something cheery in her voice, but the cadence failed her as she walked over to where Ash was waiting.

The sound of hammer on metal returned as Carrie climbed onto Ash’s back. She pulled the two of them away from Conrad’s before breaking into thought, her hand occasionally reaching for her cheek to check and see if warmth had returned to them. She looked pale, apparently. Enough to comment on.

Was it any surprise though she looked pale as a sheet? Her afternoon, spent between...whatever it was she and Justin had spent the afternoon doing, only to be following by him maybe being captured. Then some strangers showing up, one emitting something like Saoirse had. And all Carrie could think to do was wander over to the local blacksmith to ask question about some dumb religion that didn’t solve anything important. Why hadn’t she just spoken to those people? What was she stuck in the middle of here? Why couldn’t this move have just been a move?

Dropping the reins, Carrie ran her hands over her face. She was done with this. Sure, yeah, alright, life was weird. And Jorvik wanted to be a step above weird. Cool. But there was a line that reality was crossing, and Carrie did not plan on getting dragged over it.

“Ash, has it always been this nuts here?” Carrie asked, leaning forward in the saddle as she collected herself. The mare tossed her head, and Carrie sighed. “I’m asking my horse for answers now.”

As the two climbed to the top of the hill, Carrie could see Steve’s farm on the horizon in front of her. Craning her head back, she could see Silverglade Castle beside her, towering up into the clouds on its perch within the hills. Its grey stone walls were supposed to be Carrie’s landmark for directions. Without Seasalt though, the farm ahead of her seemed pointless to visit.

Her gaze drifting off to the mountains further on, Carrie considered running away. There had to be somewhere else she could start over on this island. It’s not like she would be leaving much behind here. And no one really knew her well enough. Running away from Moorland seemed to be a theme for her position.

No, that was nuts. She didn’t own Ash, for starters. Not to mention she wouldn’t be able to use this past month or so at Moorland on a resume. What would she eat, with no money? Or where would she live? Just break into someone’s house and start living there? She wasn’t a criminal.

Right? The thing with Justin didn’t make her a criminal, right? She hadn’t kidnapped him. But she might be considered an accomplice. God, those people riding up hadn’t been the police, had they? She should have just called the police when Sabine showed up. Something had been screwy from the start of the whole thing, and she should have been the smart friend and talked Justin out of going. Should have been.

Carrie let out a long drawn breath as Ash continued trotting on towards Steve’s. Should have beens weren’t going to get her anywhere. It had been done, and now Justin was off to the Dark Core oil rig. All she could do now was try to make things right. That meant going to talk to Thomas first. He ought to know where his son was and why he had gone. Surely Thomas would be able to do something about this? It was his son after all. Laws...existed, right?

“Come on, Ash, let’s go back,” Carrie murmured, pulling on the reins to turn Ash around.

Ash stopped.

Just stopped in place, in the middle of the road. When Carrie tugged around, the mare turned her head to look at Carrie before looking back at the road. Carrie pressed a little harder on Ash’s sides, urging the horse to move forward, but Ash ignored all instructions. Instead, the pony turned and started trotting east. Carrie tugged on the reins one more time before she realized Ash just wasn’t going to listen, and let her arms go slack by her sides.

As Ash carted Carrie off between rigged hills and wheat fields, Carrie tried to pretend for anyone who might possible look their way she wasn’t out of control of this little ride. One look at Ash though would have said otherwise, and Carrie wasn’t exactly keeping herself composed in this situation with her nervous looks around. Fortunately for Carrie though the only eyes in the area belonged to birds and rodents. That didn’t stop her from trying, after least for the first ten or so minutes. Then Carrie’s attention drifted to the landscape, which, despite the situation, really was beautiful.

Sunset was fast approaching when Ash stopped an hour later. Carrie had been studying the tree line of the Hollow Woods for so long she forgot to watch where Ash was going. But as the mare pulled them down a path between hills, Carrie was forced to look forward.

In front of them now was a mound. The same mound Carrie had stared into a week before, had almost died looking at. Now it was only feet in front of her.

Carrie pulled back on the reins. “Oh, no. No, no, no. Not a chance.”

Ash snorted, shaking herself before kneeling down on her front legs. As the pony dropped her back legs, Carrie rolled out of the saddle. “Oh, come on.” Carrie tried to push on the mare, but Ash spread out across the path, fully splayed out as she laid down on her side. Ash closed her eyes, her breathing slowing slightly as the horse attempted to sleep.

“Not here, Ash,” Carrie pleaded, dropping down to her knees. When the horse didn’t budge, Carrie sighed. “Really?”

Looking down the path, Carrie tried to look in the maw that had almost consumed her before. She could see maybe two feet instead the dark cavern. Did Ash want her to go in there? Forget that.

“Fine, I’m walking,” Carrie said, standing up. Ash didn’t move. “All the way back to Moorland. Whenever you want to stop napping, you can come too.” She started walking up the hill, expecting to hear Ash following behind. Nothing. No sound of the mare’s tack move as she pushed to stand up, no spiteful snort. When Carrie looked over her shoulder she found Ash in the exact same place, still sleeping.

“Ash, come on.” Carrie headed back to the mare’s side, jostling her lightly on the neck. “Come on, wake up.” When the horse didn’t move, Carrie stood up. This was dumb. This wasn’t how the afternoon was supposed to go. Now her horse wasn’t even listening to her.

Carrie balled her fists. Couldn’t something just go right for once? Couldn’t she just live here in peace? Why was everything working against her and a normal life here? “Ash, wake up.”

The mare didn’t budge. Carrie rocked her head back, shaking her head. She couldn’t believe this. Didn’t want to believe this. Any of this. That Justin might have been kidnapped, that her horse wasn’t listening to her, that there was some kind of magic cult running around the country. Why was she the one getting thrown into this nonsense? Why not that crazy stable hand who had run off with the Keepers anyway? Throw them this nuts life, not her.

“Wake up!” Carrie roared, throwing her fists back as she shouted.

The earth trembled. Ash perked her head up at that, Carrie frozen where she stood beside the mare. A wave of light rushed forward from the maw of the mound. Carrie threw up her arms in front of her, but the wave crashed over her, throwing her back. She felt herself falling backwards, and not falling at all.

Carrie opened her eyes. A misty, twinkling haze hung in the air, the sky turned from peach to gold. Birds flew by, a haze around them, like something else glowing instead was fighting to get out.

After following one of those birds for a moment through skeptical eyes, Carrie rubbed her face and slapped her checks. Some kind of dream. Maybe this was all a dream. Today hadn’t happened at all. It was just some crazy nightmare she’d cooked up from exhaustion. Weird kidnappings, crazy religions, magic, lack of control over basic parts of life. All added up.

Something pressed against her shoulder. Carrie turned to see Ash, or see through Ash. The mare snorted, flicking her tail as if nothing was wrong, but Carrie felt her stomach turn inside out as she looked at the road through Ash’s torso.

Her hands reached for her face, panicking as she expected them to phase through. They didn’t. Carrie let out a sigh of relief. Her chest went tight again when she saw the bodies on the ground. Her own form was crumbled on the ground over Ash’s. Carrie had seen this before though, yet looking at herself this time didn’t do anything, didn’t wake her up. Bending over, Carrie pressed a hand over her own chest, or her body’s chest. Slow steady beats pumped through her. Not dead. Sleeping. Hopefully sleeping.

Ash pressed into Carrie’s side as she stood back up, her breathing uneasy from the novelty of this experience. As the horse’s body pressed into hers, Carrie smiled and threw her arm over the small between Ash’s shoulders and neck. The mare nuzzled her nose into Carrie’s other hand. Carrie managed a breath of a laugh, leaning forward to rest her forehead on Ash’s. Stubborn but sweet company.

After a moment, Ash pulled her head back. She began bouncing it in the direction of the mound. Carrie turned towards the maw. It was a little brighter, bright enough that Carrie could see how deep it was. Or how deep this chamber was. There was a wall on the other side.

“I guess we’re going in there?” Carrie asked, turned towards Ash. Ash faced Carrie for a moment, before she pulled away, trotting up toward the mound. Carrie pulled her arm free of the pony before chasing after her.

Even though Ash seemed set on following her own directions, Carrie held onto the mare’s reins as they walked into the maw. The floor was oddly metallic. There was some kind of silvery ore  streaked through the rocks, a faint glisten peeking through the haze on the world. It rang differently when Ash walked over it, a kind of eerie echo bouncing off with the clop. Whether that was because of the out of body experience or the metal itself, Carrie didn’t know.

At the far end of the room was a stone wall. If it hadn’t been for the haze and they had wandered into the normal darkness of this mound, Carrie wouldn’t have been able to tell anything else about this wall. As it was though, Carrie could see the faintest outline cut into the stone wall. A boulder put into place here. A door further into a tomb. The jagged lightning bolt Carrie had seen in the rafters was etched into the stone, much larger and deeper than the little carving in the wood.

Letting go of Ash, Carrie stepped up to the etched out door. As she drew nearer, Carrie became more aware of something humming through this place. It pushed through her, through the world, full of life and wonder and power.

Taking a deep breath, Carrie looked up at the lightning bolt etching. “Fine.” This place wasn’t going to give up. It was going to drag her along whether she came willingly or not. It had called her here, it had opened the way to bring her here, and it was doing everything it could to push her on now to some kind of fate.

Carrie was done being dragged along in other people’s plans. She was done avoiding the answers that terrified her. She had answered that call to come here. She had brought herself here, knowing deep down it would never be normal. If Jorvik and fate were going to pull her along into some path, she was going to face it head first. Bring on the crazy, on the ancient cults and their goddess, on the horses and the girls with powers and the magic. All of her own magic.

And she had questions she wanted answers to now.

Putting both hands on the stone, Carrie felt magic coursing up to her fingertips. She could hear it, feel it, whispering to her, “Bring us the Warrior. Bring us the Champion. You are not the Storm. We will not part for any other mortal.”

Their voices hissed, crackled against Carrie’s skin. She wasn’t waiting for anyone else to open this door. Whatever it was lurking in here had nearly gotten her killed drawing her in before. It had knocked her out of her body twice, when she got close enough to it. She wasn’t backing down now. It needed to explain itself and what it wanted with her.

“Open,” Carrie hissed back, pushing against the stone and its magic.

And fell through.

[writingonjorvik]

The B Team Druids - Chapter 8 - A Lesser Hero

It took Carrie a while to get herself woken up. She’d only consciously done this once, and the process was still hazy for her. There was no magic words or actions or process that she could identify, there was just a feeling that washed over her and told she could wake up. Not exactly a lot to go on there.

While she was trying though, she watched the remaining individuals in the room sort out their actions. Elizabeth immediate began to take care of Bree, Saoirse set Carrie’s body down and called Raven, and Ari looked like she was struggling to keep calm. When Saoirse walked out to find Raven, Ari stepped up to make sure Carrie was alright.

Saoirse returned shortly with Raven in tow. The Star druid first set to waking Bree up, who came to looking even paler than before, but that also might just have been the drastic contrast between her and Raven. With Elizabeth and Raven’s help though, they got Bree turned away from Carrie to keep the flighty girl from fainting a second time and so Raven could check on Carrie.

When Carrie finally managed to pulled herself back into her body, she had five worried pairs of eyes watching her, Raven and Ari the most immediate around her.

Carrie gave a weak half wave. “Afternoon.”

“Afternoon yarself,” Saoirse said, taking a step closer. She sounded snarky, like she normally would, but her inflection had a hint of worry. “Ya gave us a bloody big scare dere.”

“Not my intention to randomly fall asleep,” Carrie answered, trying to grin.

“Are you narce- narca- na- narcoleptic?” Bree asked, looking off as she thought through the word. “I thought that was a really rare condition. Do you need medication? I can make something. Are you ok with herbal remedies? BecauseIknowsomepeoplehaveaproblemwithallnaturalandIdon’t--”

“Breade,” Saoirse stated, giving Bree a side eye. Bree practically swallowed her tongue as she drew back the rest of her question. She took a moment, her cheeks puffed out, before letting out a long drawn breath. As Bree was uncurling her tongue, Saoirse turned back to Carrie. “Do ya need anyding? Water? Tea? Food?”

Carrie shook her head, slowly pushing herself up on her arms. Ari rest a hand on Carrie’s shoulder. “Don’t rush. The blood will, like, rush back into your head and make it worse.”

The stare Raven gave Ari for that comment had no emotion in it, but Carrie thought it might be that Ari was wildly off the mark, and giving medical advice in front of a trained healer seemed a little silly. When Raven noticed Carrie was watching, the druid only nodded. “Rest. Drink. Breathe.” She turned, pointing to Saoirse. “Water and mint.”

There was something in Raven’s voice Carrie hadn’t noticed before. The strain in it, yes, but there was something like the sound of two coarse wires being dragged over each other as well. Something in her throat.

Elizabeth stopped Saoirse. “Let me.” She slipped through, walking towards a cabinet over in Carrie guessed was the house’s kitchen. The house was rather studio like now that Carrie thought about it, very open concept. She couldn’t see a stove from where she was, but it seemed a safe bet when Elizabeth came back with a pitcher of water with mint leaves floating in it and glasses, as well as a little bottle of painkillers.

“Slowly,” Elizabeth said, handing Carrie a cup. Carrie nodded her thanks, sipping on it. “Do you know what happened? Why you slipped out?”

Carrie looked over for a moment before Saoirse and Ari. They didn’t look at each other, but both of them seemed ready to accept whatever Carrie said. Carrie returned her attention to Elizabeth. “I’m not really sure, no. I guess, um, a high amount of magic around me seems like it can set it off. Is that normal?”

“That is difficult for me to say,” Elizabeth replied. “There’s nothing normal about these abilities. Dreamwalking, that’s what Jon Jarl called it. Orienmancy.”

“You can see people’s dreams?” Bree asked, her face lighting up. “Did you see mine?”

“Uh, no,” Carrie answered, shaking her head. When Bree started to look disappointed, Carrie added, “But I can’t really see into anyone’s. It’s more like a, uh, like a dream world. Like some kind of twilight zone.”

Saoirse turned to Elizabeth. “Dat sounds a lo’ like Pandoria.”

Elizabeth shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. Carrie, what color was this world?”

“Well, it was this one? Just kinda gold and peach,” Carrie said. She took a sip of the water before asking, “Are there other worlds?”

“We know of one other,” Elizabeth explained. “Pandoria, Garnok’s home reality. But that place looks nothing like this world. No, I believe this is something else, some kind of between.”

Before Carrie could really asked, Bree raised a hand. “It sounds like Carrie is going to a nicer Upsidedown, but Pandoria is more like a Narnia situation. Does that make sense?”

“Yeah, you watch Stranger Things?” Carrie asked, grinning.

Bree’s face lit up. “I streamed it last week. Oh my goodness, can you believe--”

“Anoder time, please,” Saoirse cut in. “Do ya know how serious i’ is dat where dis dream world is?”

“Not really?” Carrie answered. How was she supposed to respond? She barely knew what her powers were, much less if there was consequences to using it.

“Ya could be openin’ rifts all over de country if ya’re no’ careful,” Saoirse said.

Elizabeth sighed. “Let’s not be drastic, Saoirse.” The red-head nearly cut daggers at Elizabeth for the comment, but the older woman was oblivious to it. “There was no fluctuation at Jon Jarl’s mound, and there’s nothing here. I think it’s more likely that Carrie’s right, and this is some kind of twilight zone between here and our plane, but not enough to tap into the dimension bridging our world to Pandoria. That being the case though, perhaps we should test that theory.”

The five young women all turned towards Elizabeth, confused. Saoirse asked first, “Ya wan’ us to try to open a rif’?”

“Ms. Elizabeth, is that safe?” Bree asked, curling up her hand as she asked. “What if we do rip open the tear? The protection wards have been getting weaker and weaker lately. There’s a serious chance a really wound could open soon, whatifweactuallytearsomething?” Bree took a deep breath. “It could go very badly.”

“I have a team dedicated already to investigating this flux, headed by Alex. But between a trained rune technician and one of our portal specialists, it should be fine. And if it goes poorly, I’ll personally send Alex and Linda to come help you.”

“And take dem away from wha’ dey’re already workin’ on,” Saoirse grumbled. Ari elbowed her, cutting Saoirse’s next sentence off.

“Besides, you all are a unit now,” Elizabeth said. “You won’t be able to form any kind of Soul Rider bond without some teamwork. So here’s your first mission. Test Carrie’s reality for any dangerous anomalies, and then we’ll move forward with getting you all into the Jarl’s tomb to form your bond. Alright?”

Carrie nodded. “That seems fair.” Bree agreed immediately, nodding fervently. Ari barely looked up, but motioned her agreement. Raven was silent beside Saoirse, as all eyes turned on them.

Raven glanced at Saoirse. “Help.”

Saoirse grimaced, before letting out a disgruntled sigh. “Achk, fine, bu’ don’ ya dare send Linda. She’s go’ too much on her hands. Alex would be enough. I can handle this.”

“I will do what is safe for our order,” Elizabeth answered, looking around the five of them. “But I think it will go quite well. Best of luck to all of you.” She motioned to her door, smiling, though Carrie felt something weary on the druid’s shoulders. Carrie took the cue to leave.

Outside, Valedale was as cheary and quaint as it had been a few hours ago, oblivious to the conversation that had happened in those closed doors. Carrie wondered if any other druids would even know about this. It seemed like she had stumbled on a secret the leaders of the Keepers didn’t want being passed around knowing about the actual Champion of Aideen, a surprise addition probably wasn’t on their highest order to spread if it meant sharing that secret.

“Bloody hell,” Saoirse griped, closing the door and whistled loudly for Copper. As the Icelandic trotted over, she looked at Carrie. “We goin’ now? I know a spo’ to tes’ i’, bu’ Raven says I can’ jus’ knock ya ou’. Are ya up to i?”

“You’re going to hit her?” Bree asked, aghast and taking a step away from Saoirse.

Saoirse turned to Bree, mouth slightly open and her brows twisted in a confused expression. “Did ya really jus’ fuckin’ ask dat? No, I’m no’ goin’ to hi’ her, bu’ de only way we know how to send Carrie into her dream state is wid a lo’ of magic. De magic from de Jarl’s tomb firs’ and now between--” She cut herself off and looked at Ari, who briefly looked up and shrugged. Saoirse turned back to Bree. “Dat’s all we go’ righ’ now. Bu’ gettin’ hi’ migh’ feel better dan my magic.” The last sentence was added quieter than the rest.

“How about food first?” Carrie offered. As Saoirse and Bree both started to point towards the cafe in Valedale, Carrie shook her head. “No, somewhere private. Any other restaurants in the area?”

“There’s a restaurant up at the observatory,” Bree said. “I need to get Sidhe if we’re going there though.”

“Does that work for everyone else?” Carrie inquired, looking around their circle. Everyone nodded or answered yes after a moment. Letting out a brief sigh, Carrie nodded. “Good. Um, I’m gonna get going then. I need a moment. Meet you there?”

“Ya sure?” Saoirse asked, already on Copper’s back.

“Yeah, just a minute. I’ll text when I’m cool,” Carrie replied, climbing onto Ash’s back. The mare snorted a welcome before Carrie pulled them off up the trail behind Elizabeth’s house. She heard Saoirse move to follow, but there were no hoofbeats continuing besides Ash’s.

When they rounded the bend, Carrie stopped Ash in front of the glowing pillars. The fact that they were still glowing made her uncomfortable. This whole idea of being some chosen one didn’t feel right. And it felt less right the more she was worrying about tearing a seam in reality. She wasn’t some kind of hero though. She was just her, and at the end of the day, she knew she was more worried about herself than anyone else. Not because she didn’t care, but because...what could she do? Even with magic abilities, what was dream walking going to do to protect any of her friends from a demon? What was that compared to magic Saoirse had? The Champion’s powers were probably even stronger than that.

Carrie shook her head. She had told herself she was going to try. She wasn’t going to just be pulled down some path because she happened to have this chosen gift. If she was going to be a chosen whatever, she was going to face it and not let fate just drag her away.

But that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to doubt the being who decided it was a good idea.

Carrie gave the pillars one last look. She sighed, not sure what this meant for her and her life here in Jorvik. But there was only one way to find out. So Carrie asked Ash on.

[writingonjorvik]

The B Team Druids - Chapter 6 - Pecking Order

Rocking back into her seat, Carrie fidgeted with the menu in front of her as she waited for Saoirse to sit down. There was a nice breeze out, but the sun was overcast, leaving a chill over the terrace cafe where the two were eating. For a moment, Carrie wondered if Saoirse might have anything to do with it. The weather seemed to tilt around the young mage.

Wow, that was a doozy.

“I haven’t been here before,” Carrie said, pulling up her menu to hide her expression. After last night, Saoirse turning up to find Carrie collapsed outside Jon’s tomb, she didn’t know how much she could stand Saoirse thinking she was such a noob at this whole magic business.

Though she kinda was.

“Neider have I,” Saoirse replied, unfolding her menu. “Bi’ overpriced for jus’ a burger dough.”

Carrie gripped the edges of the menu a little tighter, offering after a moment, “Split a pizza with you?”

“Done,” Saoirse answered, setting her menu down. “So, wha’ is i’ ya were wantin’ to talk abou’?”

“Right, um, where to start?” Carrie paused, pressing her arms down on top of the menu as she pressed it to the table. “Well, Raven might have been on to something that day on the beach.”

“She usually is,” Saoirse replied. “Did ya find ou’ yar Sign den?”

“Sort of,” Carrie answered, pursing her lips. “Um, Aideen chose me.”

“Yeah, she chose us all.”

“No, no, I mean, she chose me for her, uh, gifts? I don’t know what to call it. I guess her sign, her circle, whatever you want to refer to it as,” Carrie said. “Specifically Aideen, like a fifth Circle.”

Saoirse slid down in her chair, folding her arms. “If I hadn’ of found ya in dat cave, I’d dink dis was some kind of revenge for de hill. Bu’ alrigh’, Aideen chose ya. Wha’ did she wan’?”

“That’s the problem. I don’t know. Jon didn’t know either,” Carrie explained. “He said he was waiting for a Champion of Aideen or something, for the Soul Riders to open his tomb. But I’m not that Champion, I don’t have all of Aideen’s gift, just one of them. He said maybe I could use my dream magic or whatever to commune with the goddess, but I would need my own ‘Soul Riders.’” She motioned with air quotes for the last part of her sentence.

The red-head paused, her lips tight as she thought over the information Carrie had just given her. Saoirse sighed and shook her head. “I owe i’ to ya to believe ya, even if I’m strugglin’ to. It’s no’ easy. I asked the leader of the druids, Fripp, if he ha’ heard of any library of Jon Jarl. He hadn’.”

Carrie opened her mouth to respond, but Saoirse rocked forward, continuing, “Still, ya were ou’ cold las’ nigh’. Ya and yar horse. Doub’ ya would have done dat to yarself. No’ to mention wha’ happened las’ week. Normally folks who are blessed only get dis little fuzzy feelin’, no’ full on-- whatever i’ was dat happened to ya.

“I don’ know. It’s a tall tale, bu’ I’d like to see wha’ happens,” Saoirse replied. “And I owe ya one for draggin’ ya into dis in de firs’ place.”

“Thank you,” Carrie said, leaning over the table.

Shrugging, Saoirse returned, “No’ a worries. Bu’ dat does leave us in search of two more druids willin’ to help us. And ya still need to be invited into the order yarself if ya wan’ to look for any books from de Jarl.”

“Two more?”

“Yeah, ya’ve already got Raven and me. Dat’s Star and Lightnin’ covered,” Saoirse stated.

Of course, Saoirse and the Lightning Circle. That should have been obvious after the storm clouds that followed Saoirse wherever she went. “Ok, do you know anyone from the Sun and Moon Circles who might be willing to help us?”

“Moon will be easier,” Saoirse admitted, looking off over the terrace as she thought. “Scholars migh’ like bein’ alone, bu’ dey all know each other. Sun will be...difficul’. Dings are a bi’ tense dere a’ de momen’, wha’ wid de Sun Soul Rider missin’ and all.”

“Missing?” Carried asked.

Saoirse nodded, a grim expression on her face. “No’ normal wha’ happened to her, Anne. One day she was in France, some fancy contes’, nex’, no one can find her.”

“Should we be worried?”

“Nah, we’re no’ of interes’ to nobody,” Saoirse said, shaking her expression away. “Bu’ all the oder druids in de circle are wonderin’ if Anne wasn’ de real Soul Rider because she’s missin’. Few are tryin’ for her position. Problem won’ be finding a Sun Circle druid to help us, it’s finding one who won’t be distracted with stealin’ someone else’s job.”

“You think Anne was the Soul Rider though?”

“No’ my business, but I dink Aideen knew wha’ she was doin’ when she picked de Soul Riders,” Saoirse stated, a very confident tone in her voice. Carrie wondered if Saoirse knew any of the Soul Riders. Or maybe this Champion. Saoirse pressed on though, “And no’ a one of dem is wordy of de spo’ if dey’re lookin’ at stealin’ it in de firs’ place. Bu’ I wouldn’ know where to star’ lookin’ for Sun druids. Can’ say I ge’ along wid dat sor’.”

Carrie started to ask why, but she remembered what Conrad had said about the Sun Circle. They were the Keepers’ spies, and Saoirse was a rather straightforward kind of person, barring her reasons for taking Carrie up that hill. She could imagine Saoirse having trouble with the Sun Circle. “Alright, well, who would be able to give us a recommendation?”

“Imagine Linda migh’ know one or two,” Saoirse said, glancing down at the floor. “She’s downstairs, doing research a’ de Baroness’s library.”

“Awesome, is she free?”

Holding up a finger, Saoirse pulled out her phone and started texting. And kept texting. She barely looked up when the server came over to get their order, slouched back in her chair, preoccupied with her phone. It was only as the pizza was being brought over that she pulled herself out again. “She’s free in abou’ ten minutes.” After taking a slice, she pulled her phone back out, returning to her conversation.

Alright then, Carrie thought as she took a piece of pizza. She decided to focus on her half of the pie over dealing with Saoirse’s absentmindness. She was getting help. That’s what mattered. She wasn’t joining the Keepers, not seriously. She had a job already, a few friends left in Moorland even without Justin around. The point was to get answers, not to take up with a bunch of cultists in the woods. Those two could remain separate, right? Conrad wasn’t tied up in all this.

Carrie barely ate two slices of her five, and Saoirse nearly ate those if Carrie hadn’t asked for a box. The brief “Oh, right” across Saoirse’s face worried Carrie, but she didn’t comment. Still Carrie held the box close to her side as they two climbed down the stairs wound up the mansion.

As they rounded the front of the building, Carrie noticed a young lady walking out the front doors. She pushed up her wide, round glasses as she walked down the stairs towards them, waving briefly to Saoirse as they walked over. Linda, Carrie assumed.

“Hey, Saoirse,” Linda said, smiling brightly as they approached. “What did you need help with?”

From the side of her eye, Carrie caught Saoirse pointing at her over folded arms. “We’re lookin’ for some druids who migh’ be free for an experimen’.”

“What kind of experiment?” Linda inquired, excitement in her eyes. Carrie started to smile before catching herself. A wave of static knocked the expression out of her.

“Need some magic from each of de Circles,” Saoirse explained. “Raven and I can’ figure ou’ wha’ Sign dis one is. She suggested getting’ group togeder migh’ help us figure i’ ou’.”

“Like as an amplifier?” Linda asked.

Carrie felt a bit of a knot in her stomach. Exactly that, though she hadn’t expected anyone to have figured it out. Not that there was anything wrong with Linda knowing, it just felt strange for someone to have worked through it so quickly. “That was my idea, yeah.”

“That’s a really clever idea,” Linda replied, smiling at Carrie. She leaned forward, taking Carrie’s hands. That bristling feeling ran up Carrie’s spine. “I’m impressed. Have you had any experience with magic before you ran into the Keepers? Most people don’t think of proximity magic, but it’s really a very useful tool. It can even bridge Circle lines, allow for cross magic casting-- I’m getting carried away.” She grinned. “Sorry, it’s nice to be able to talk about something less serious than, well, what I’ve been researching.”

“No luck then?” Saoirse asked, notably vague. Keepers’ business.

Linda shook her head, letting out a brief sigh. “Not yet. But something has to turn up though. Either in there or, well, out here somewhere.”

Saoirse set a hand on Linda’s shoulder. “He’ll show up. We’re all looking.”

Pressing down on Saoirse’s hand, Linda nodded. She pulled herself free, turning back to Carrie. “But to your theory. I think it’ll work. How many people do you have?”

“Jus’ me and Raven,” Saoirse answered.

“Well, if we can find a Sun druid, I can probably help--”

Saoirse shook her head, stopping Linda. “Ya’ve go’ how many people ya’re lookin’ for? We can find anoder Moon druid who doesn’ have so much to deal wid, one who isn’ goin’ to ge’ have to go sleepless anoder night for someding dis small. I’ll bring ya de results myself, since I know ya’re curious, bu’ ya’re no’ comin’.”

Pushing up her glasses again, Linda nodded with a weak smile. “Thank you.” There was an awkward pause before the three before Linda said, in Carrie’s direction, “I know Bree is free. She just wrapped up a big data entry job for Elizabeth, and she really deserves some field work after that. They had her log fifty scrolls last month.”

“Fifty!” Saoirse exclaimed with a short whistle. “She make someone mad?”

“Ha, no, just drew the short straw. It’s not that bad,” Linda replied. “All of those books, so much information. I wish I had the time to sit down with them all.”

Leaning towards Carrie, Saoirse added, “Sounds like i’ is.”

Carrie managed to chuckle. “Some kind of conservation effort?”

“The Keepers have so many old books,” Linda stated, that sparkling coming back. “So much history. And the findings on magic is amazing. But the books are old and--” Linda cut herself off, looking at Saoirse. Carrie expected the red head to motion “no,” but Saoirse looked just as confused as Carrie did. Linda swallowed. “With recent events, we wanted to have a better library that’s...easier to find.”

“Makes sense,” Carrie said, glancing at Saoirse. Sore topic?

“I’ll find Bree. Wha’ abou’ for de Sun Circle?” Saoirse asked, not noticing.

“Um, that one’s harder,” Linda answered. Saoirse nudged Carrie’s side, but said nothing as Linda thought on it. After a moment, she made a glance westward. “Arabelle might be interested. I don’t think you know her?”

Saoirse shook her head. Carrie risked a joke, “Nope.”

Linda laughed, shaking her head. “Sorry, not meaning to keep you out of the loop. I think Arabelle is training at the Baroness’s riding hall with one of the local dressage teams. I saw some riders headed down there, but I didn’t notice anyone. I’d check for you, but,” she tapped the side of her head, “I’m busy elsewhere.”

Again turning to Saoirse, Carrie tried to hide her confusion. Elsewhere? What was she talking about? If Saoirse noticed, she didn’t notice. “Don’ burn yarself ou’, no good if ya fain’.”

“I’ll try,” Linda answered, sighing. “See you later?”

“Yeah, I’ll le’ ya know how dis goes,” Saoirse replied. “We’ll star’ wid huntin’ down Arabelle. Send me Bree’s number later.” After Linda nodded, Saoirse grinned back at the Moon druid. “Deadly. Later.”

Saoirse waved. Carrie started to say goodbye, but she felt a hand on her shoulder tugging her away. With a snort of a laugh, Linda waved goodbye to them before heading back towards the stairs where she had come from.

As Carrie and Saoirse walked towards the stables, Saoirse commented, “Ya’re awful casual wid people.”

“I thought I was being friendly?” Carrie said nervously, feeling it turn into a question as she spoke.

“Firs’ de Jarl, and now Linda,” Saoirse said.

“What’s special about Linda?” Carrie inquired, glancing back over her shoulder.

As she turned back, she caught a look on Saoirse’s face that just said “Everything,” but all the fiery rider replied was, “She’s the Moon Soul Rider.”

Carrie looked back over her shoulder. That was a Soul Rider? Then that meant-- “Was she using magic or something?”

“Glad ya noticed,” Saoirse answered, grinning. “Linda can scry, see dings and places she’s nowhere near. She uses i’ to read when she’s talkin’ to people.”

“So she was doin’ something else while she was talking to us?” Carrie asked, wondering how someone would even have the mental fortitude to be in two places at once, and to be good at both of those things at the same time. She hadn’t even noticed Linda pausing or struggling with their conversation. Saoirse nodded. Carrie blinked, shaking her head in disbelief. “Wow.”

“Isn’ dat deadly?” Saoirse grinned, pride brimming in her voice.

“Yeah,” Carrie answered, a little nervous to say anything else. Had Saoirse been the source of the static? Between the fawning and being protective, Carrie wondered how the two knew each other. Was Saoirse like this with all of the Soul Riders? She seemed to believe strongly in their positions based on what she said about Anne. Maybe it was a religious thing.

The two rode down the slope to the large riding hall adjunct to the vineyards. It’s two massive rooms made it larger than any buildings Carrie had ever seen. And were those people riding on the roof? She craned her head back to see, but she and Saoirse had already ridden into the standing room before she could get a good look.

Most of the riders had dismounted outside, or were riding in the right hand room’s jumping course. Saoirse rode left, not stopping to dismount, so Carrie followed with a lowered head. “This feels kinda impolite.”

“Oh, don’ worry. It’s no’ a real dressage team,” Saoirse returned as they trotted along the edge of the room. “Aren’ any Silverglade.”

“Why not?”

Saoirse paused, her brow furrowing tightly. “Couldn’ tell ya. Jus’ stopped havin’ dem one day.”

The two continued along until they reached the viewing benches on the far side of the room. Seemed like something that would have been added closer to the door, but Carrie didn’t know a lot about dressage, or big fancy buildings dedicated to riding. She’d always been in outdoor competitions.

“Um, we’re riding here.”

Someone tapped Carrie on the shoulder as she stopped by the stands. Before Carrie could respond, Saoirse waved her hand. “And we’re watchin’. No harm in dat.”

The seated observed pulled their hand back, sitting down with a grumble. As gossip passed between the other dressage riders, Carrie turned to Saoirse. “Should we be here?”

“Ya can’t force anyone to leave. Besides, we are jus’ watchin’. We can ask around when dey’re done. Enjoy de show.” Saoirse tilted her chin towards the rider in the middle of the ring. Carrie followed the gesture.

The rider presently riding appeared to have some Middle Eastern heritage, a stark contrast to the pale complection of most native Jorvegians. Burgundy streaks cut through her black hair like ribbons. It wasn’t red like Saoirse’s orangey-red ginger. It was definitely artificial, too purpley to be natural. But not purple enough to truly match the purple suit the rider was wearing, a notably different color from the black riding uniforms of the other riders. Her frisian was dressed to match, with burgundy ties in his braided hair. Still, it didn’t match the purple saddle blanket he was wearing.

After finishing their set, rider and mount walked back towards the stands. With a flip of her hair, the rider tilted her head up like faux royalty. “Pretty impressive, right?”

The other riders in the stalls applauded her, a few giving out critiques, but most adoring praise. Carrie was a little surprised that the rider didn’t cringe at the criticism, instead she seemed to respond to it the most, sending genuine smiles towards those who noted her mistakes.

“Eh,” Saoirse muttered, rocked back in Copper’s saddle.

Carrie risked a golf clap and a small smile. She didn’t know much about dressage, but the two had been beautifully in sync. She barely noticed the things others had noted, but she guessed that was likely because she didn’t have the same trained eye to notice those details.

The rider turned towards Carrie and an uninterested Saoirse. She smiled towards Carrie, batting her hair back. The streaks turned-- pinker? Carrie blinked, wondering if she was seeing straight. Saoirse must have noticed it too, because she sat up straighter in her saddle, a little bristled.

“Would the two of you like to join our drill team?” the rider asked, gesturing to the others as she and her frisian turned with a bouncy trot. They stopped, the horse pawing the ground. Ash snorted and tossed her head beneath Carrie, glancing back as if to say “Showoffs.”

“Ya ever heard of de Keepers of Aideen?” Saoirse asked, bitterly.

The rider laughed, the briefest sideways glance, and the briefest moment her streaks got redder. Actual redder, not a return to her burgandy. A rather giving tell, Carrie thought, supposing you caught it. “Aren’t they those old dudes who live in Valedale? Wearing those ugly robes around.”

There was a collective “ew” through the benches. Carrie was reminded of a distinct Bobcat girl vibe. She blinked as the rider turned to gossip with the other riders, an idea coming to mind. “Arabelle?”

With a toss of her hair, the rider tilted her chin up again. “That’s me. Call me Ari.”

“Yeah,” Carrie murmured, pressing her lips together. “I, um, I work at Moorland Stables. They’re looking for a dressage instructor.”

“Why would Moorland need a dressage instructor if there’s not even a dressage league in the region?” one of the riders on the bench asked.

Carrie shrugged. “I’m not the boss, I’m just here to ask for volunteers.”

Ari blinked, studying Carrie for a moment. There was no way she didn’t know it was a lie. Saoirse did, Carrie could feel her side eye as she waited on Ari’s response. But it didn’t matter if it was true. It was an out for the conversation. Whatever Ari’s reasons were, she was keeping her connection to the druids private. That was her business, and Carrie wasn’t going to out her.

“You want to talk outside?” Carrie offered, pointing back towards the doors.

“Yeah,” Ari replied, a wary eye on Saoirse. She picked up a perkier voice, “Yeah, we can talk outside.” With that, she tapped the sides of her horse, trotting off towards the door.

Saoirse nudged Carrie’s side, giving her a wink, but there was still a dark look in those eyes as she and Copper followed after. Carrie let out a long sigh. She was not looking forward to whatever fight she was about to wander into.

Outside the building, Ari had pulled off out of view of the windows, practically hiding behind the building. Based on her expression and her horse’s ears pressed flat back, she was not happy with how Saoirse was leaned forward over her saddle, scolding her. Carrie urged Ash to catch up with the other two.

“--know ya can’ be walkin’ around like dat, showin’ off wid dat hair of yars,” Saoirse chided. “Dey can’ know ya have magic.”

“Um, Saoirse,” Carrie asked, butting into the conversation. “You literally flew the day we met.”

“I was savin’ yar life, would ya rader I le’ ya die?” Saoirse returned, turning so she could stare down Carrie. After a moment, she rolled her eyes. “Fine, I’ll leave i’, bu’ she knows better.”

Carrie shook her head and turned back to Ari. “Nice to meet you.”

Ari shook her head, her streaks turning orange-ish. “Did the Keepers send you or what?”

“I’m not even in the Keepers,” Carrie replied.

“You’re not?” Ari asked, turning to look at Carrie, then Saoirse. “So why am I being chewed out? You’re being super public with this muggle.”

Carrie almost snorted a laugh, but she caught herself. Saoirse didn’t seem to notice, responding, “She’s go’ magic, she hasn’ joined is all.”

Ari opened her mouth to respond, but Carrie started to talk first, cringing a little for interrupting, “We need help from someone with Sun Circle magic for a bit of an experiment. I might be chosen by Aideen for some kind of quest, but I need help to ask her.”

“Someone whose no’ goin’ to use i’ to try for Anne’s job,” Saoirse added.

“Why would I want Anne’s job?” Ari returned, laughing. Her hair returned to its burgundy state. “Who wants teleporting magic when you can have cool illusion magic? Lame person, that’s who.” Ari ran a hand through her hair, flashing one of the streaks, showing them off as if the others hadn’t already noticed and that wasn’t the whole reason she’d been scolded a moment ago.

“Fair enough,” Carrie said, glancing to Saoirse, then back to Ari. “So, will you help us?”

“Sure, but not during drill meetings,” Ari answered. “I’ll text you my schedule later.” With that, she and her horse headed back for the stable. It was only when she was about halfway there that she paused and looked back towards Carrie and Saoirse, realizing what Carrie was about to call out. “Oh, right, you need my number.”

[writingonjorvik]

The B Team Druids - Chapter 3 - Home Cooking

It hadn’t been hard to block out Saoirse, despite not being able to block her number. That would mean a trip over to Jorvik City, and Carrie didn’t have the time. She had buried herself in her work, picking up basic riding lessons when chores around the stable were done. And if that didn’t keep her busy until the afternoon, she’d ride over to Fort Pinta to take care of the horses there.

For the first few days, it was the best feeling to go to bed exhausted, sore, and tired, to have nothing else to think about but the stiffness setting in. But then after a few days, even that couldn’t distract Carrie’s mind for long.

What had actually happened that day? Her mind tried to unscramble it all, the fall, the out of body experience, how Saoirse had saved her. Carrie drove her pitchfork in a little harder than she had to, disliking that one most of all. Saoirse had saved her life, but Saoirse was also the reason she nearly died in the first place. Was she supposed to be grateful or mad? In the end, she was just left frustrated and confused, avoiding every attempt Saoirse was making to get in contact again.

“Did the floor do something wrong?”

Carrie turned to see Justin walking in with a bale of hay over his shoulders. As the early greying young adult tossed his load into the pile, Carrie twisted the pitchfork in her hands. “Probably not.” She managed to smile briefly, one of those fake little smiles.

“Easy target though,” Justin replied, brushing his hands off against each other. Folding his arms over his chest, he asked, “Can I ask what it’s substituting for?”

After a silent stare, Carrie returned to her work. “Thought the Bobcats were the only ones who gossiped.”

“I’m concerned about the floorboards,” Justin answered with a laugh, though he kept his distance. “And anyone else who might fall victim to your pitchfork there.”

Carrie grinned a little. “You might be next.”

“Woah, woah, woah!” Justin replied, putting up his arms defensively. “Coming after the boss’s kid now. She’s fearless.” Carrie couldn’t help but to laugh at Justin’s act, still chuckling as he pressed, “Can I know what my offense was, Ms. Price?”

“If that’s your last wish.” With one more laugh, Carrie shook her head and faced Justin. Leaning on the pitchfork, she replied, “Just...God, I don’t know. I moved here thinking it was going to be the best thing that ever happened to me. Turns out people are just as fake here as they were back home.”

“I should clarify that I was pretending,” Justin said, setting a hand over his heart.

Carrie laughed again, shaking her head. “Not you.” She sighed and tossed her next statement through her head. “I dunno, I met these girls over at Fort Pinta the other day and I figured I’d give them a chance. Turned out not to have been the best choice I’ve made. And the Bobcats are, well, I don’t miss high school.”

“Homesick?” Justin asked.

“I think lonely is a better word for it,” Carrie answered, resting the pitchfork against the wall nearest her. “It’s not like I was the most popular person back States side, but...well, I can talk to my boss and you.”

Justin clutched down on her heart. “I think I should be hurt by that.”

With a mock scowl, Carrie retorted, “Yeah, you nosey twerp.”

He staggered backwards, feigning weakness in his knees. Carrie rolled her eyes, looking over at Ash. The mare appeared to have been watching them, though she turned away after Carrie faced her. There had been an awkward tension between the two since a week ago, one Carrie didn’t know what to do about. Had she scared Ash badly? Or did that thing touch Ash too?

“Going to the fort again today?” Justin asked, bringing Carrie’s attention back to him.

“That’s the plan,” Carrie answered with a shrug.

“You’re going to work yourself to death at this rate,” Justin said as Carrie started towards the tack closet.

If only you knew the half of it, Carrie thought, pulling the door open. “I’m trying to save up enough to rent a house over in Silverglade. Didn’t bring any furniture with me either, so there’s that.”

“Is there some kind of rush?”

Carrie paused in the door frame, turning back to look at Justin. He hadn’t made a move to follow her. After a moment, Justin’s face went a little red. “That sounded really bad.”

“A little,” Carrie answered, smiling back at him. “But I appreciate you care.”

“That’s what bosses’s kids are for,” Justin answered, shuffling his feet. There was a long pause before he added, “Hey, can I ask you on something that sounds like a date, but I promise isn’t?”

Snorting, Carrie shook her head. She tried not to laugh, but giggles slipped out as her lips turned up. “Um, depends on what it is.”

“Something I do to cheer myself up, and it seems like you could use some of that right now,” Justin went on, his face still red. “But offering to cook you dinner would probably sounds more romantic than I mean for it to be. Honest, I’m just trying to be a friend doing a nice thing for another friend.”

Carrie pursed her lips, thinking about his weird offer. This weird place. She had thought it would be a fantasy being here. It was more like life just going on. She shrugged. “Why not? I’ll take free food over another ramen packet any day.”

“No promises my cooking is better than a ramen packet,” Justin replied, rubbing the back of his neck. “I don’t want to keep you from working though.”

“Nah, Jenna told me to take the afternoon off anyway,” Carrie said, glancing at the pitchfork. “I was trying to keep busy doing stuff on the chore board.”

“Ouh, I didn’t realize it was this bad,” Justin said, fake concern. “Ms. Price, you’re working over hours to fight off your feelings. We need to get you some comfort food right this minute.”

She snorted she laughed so hard, following Justin off to the main building as he continued to joke with her about overworking herself. He led her to the dining hall, and started making tea for them both before he began pulling out ingredients for whatever he was cooking. Whenever Carrie offered to help, Justin would return her comments with mockingly overdramatic concern for her health. Finally, Carrie resigned to watching from a couch in the back of the dining room, sipping tea and sending glances towards the kitchen on occasion.

As Justin continued working on their meal, Carrie rocked back her head on the sofa. She studied the patterns etched into the support beams, hand painted and carved generations ago. Among them, Carrie noticed four signs; a spiral sun, a crescent moon, a four pointed star, and a lightning bolt. They felt oddly familiar. Something out of a dream, maybe.

“Hey, Justin, what’s your Sign?” she asked, wondering if it would mean something to him.

“Um, I think I was born in the year of the boar?” he answered, looking up from the counter. “Why?”

“Just something I heard the other day,” Carrie said. “Something about Signs the other day, some local religion? I’d never heard of it, so I was wondering if you knew anything about it.”

Justin paused for a moment, leaning on the counter as he thought. After a moment, he went back to work, saying, “Might have been some of the Keepers.”

“Keepers?” Carrie inquired, leaning over on the arm of the couch.

“Yeah, the Keepers of Aideen,” Justin replied. “It’s this old druidic faith that’s been around on Jorvik for ages. A lot of the more secluded villages still worship the goddess, Aideen. I don’t think it’s very popular though, about as common for people to believe in her as they would be to believe in the Norse gods or something. Well, it’s popular for tourism. We have a mound over near Fort Pinta of a very important leader who believed in Aideen, but I think the ghost sightings scared people off too much. Don’t know who it was.”

Carrie shivered. “Ghost sightings? Really? You think ghosts are real?”

“Sure, we’ve got one up at that abandoned farm house on top of the plateau,” Justin answered, his head tilting in the direction of where the cliffside farm was. “And we get a few running around every Halloween.”

“Yeah, ok,” Carrie replied, nervously. That hadn’t felt like a ghost, whatever it had been. “But these Keepers? What are they all about?”

She heard the oven open and closed before Justin walked over into the living room, typing in a timer on his phone. He pulled a chair over by the couch. “I can’t really give you specifics, to be honest. The most I know is from those personality quizzes you get on Facebook and stuff. Like ‘What’s your Jorviegian druid sign?’ Tan or Loretta would be more likely to be able to tell you.”

“But I’m asking you,” Carrie replied with a grin.

Justin sighed and rocked back in his chair. “I dunno. Um, there’s Sun, Moon, Star, and Lightning. And then the all powerful Light that they throw in for Mary Sues.”

Patting the couch beside her, Carrie pressed, “Which one are you? From these personality quizzes?”

With another exasperated huff, Justin sat down on the couch beside Carrie. “I don’t know, I think it was Star that last time I took one ten years ago, something about a kind and caring personality.”

“You sure you were being honest with your answers?” Carrie jabbed.

Justin scowled playfully back at her, shaking his head. “Rude.”

“What would I be?” Carrie asked, leaning back against the arm of the couch, balling her legs up beside her.

“Really?” Justin replied, laughing. “Carrie, I’m no good at this.”

“Oh, come on, I thought you had a kind and caring personality?” Carrie teased. “Would it help if I said I’m a Hufflepuff?”

Rocking his head back to laugh, Justin just shook his head. “I doubt you’re actually a Hufflepuff.”

“Rude, I’m so a Hufflepuff.”

“And I’m Slytherin.”

Carrie punched Justin’s shoulder, or wound up to. The swing ended up not being very hard when it landed. Drawing her arm back, she tilted her head a bit. “Please.”

“I guess if I’m under the threat of force,” Justin answered, jokingly rubbing his shoulder. He shrugged. “Moon, maybe.”

“And what does that mean?” Carrie asked, leaning forward.

“You’re smart.”

Carrie blushed, looking away. She smiled weakly, brushing her hair back behind her ear. “Oh. Thanks.”

An awkward silence fell over them both. Carrie twisted her legs closer to her and further from Justin on the couch. She pulled out her phone, idly playing a mobile game instead of continuing the conversation with Justin. He seemed content to do the same on his own.

After a while, the smell of ground beef and cooked tomatoes filled the dining room. Carrie took a big whiff of the smell, the medley of herbs blended in, most prominently basil. “God, that smells great. What are you making?”

“My mom’s lasagna,” Justin answered, pulling up his timer again. Another ten minutes were left, but he stood up and walked back into the kitchen. “It’s the only recipe of hers I’ve been able to make. I’ve been making it a lot lately. Helps me feel better, work through things.”

For all the time Carrie had been here, she hadn’t heard a single word about a Mrs. Moorland. But from the way things sounds, she had been gone for a long time. Had Justin ever made it with her?

“I’m-- Sorry,” Carrie muttered. He probably didn’t want her sympathy for a woman he had never known to lose. She tried to smile instead. “I didn’t know it was a family recipe.”

“Which is why you can’t help,” Justin stated, smirking from beside the oven. Still, there was a part of his voice that was tender, recalling someone, or making a memory where one never had grown.

“Worried I’ll run away with it?” Carrie asked, attempting to joke. Fairly heavy subject she was wading around now. It certainly made hers feel less serious. Dead parents not the best subject for the first not a date.

Justin smiled. “Maybe. Have to see what you’ve gotta say after you’ve tried it.”

Carrie got up from the couch and started pulling out plates as Justin waited by the stove. She handed him an oven mitt as she searched for silverware among the drawers. Justin pointed to it just as his timer started going off, a wave of heat flooding the kitchen as he pulled out the baking stone.

“Smells good,” Carrie said as Justin set the dish down on the counter.

“Glad I got that much right,” Justin replied with a laugh. “The first three burned.”

“Oh, God, that must have been fun clearing out of here.” Carrie laughed, waving her hand in front of her nose. “If it makes you feel any better, I burnt my dad’s cake the first time I helped with his birthday dinner.”

“How do you burn a cake?” Justin asked.

“How do you burn a lasagna?”

Justin paused, his mouth open to respond, but he didn’t. After a moment, he nodded. “Touche.”

As Justin served the two of them, Carrie fished out a pair of glasses. She set the cups down just as Justin finished plating. Justin shifted back a step, running a hand over his neck. “I don’t actually think you’re going to run away with the recipe.”

Carrie sat down, dragging a plate over to her. “I’ve knocked him off guard, perfect.”

Shaking his head, Justin took his own plate, falling quiet as he ate. Carrie found a similar silence washing over her. It was really good lasagna. Not the world’s best, but definitely up there in best lasagnas she had had. Definitely worthy of not talking through eating it.

“Who is Aideen though?” Carrie asked, stopping herself from licking the plate clean with the question.

“Some kind of ancient goddess, I don’t know,” Justin replied, shoveling the last bite of his own lasagna into his mouth. He swallowed. “You could go ask Conrad. Pretty sure he believes in that stuff. He doesn’t mind a conversation if you’re over there, and he’ll know more than me.”

“Talking to people is so difficult though,” Carrie joked, laughing a little.

“Yeah, people are terrible,” Justin said, rolling his eyes.

Carrie fanned her fingers out as she pressed back in her seat. “The worst.” She looked around the room as she scooped up her plate. “Most of them, anyway.”

“Any exceptions you can think of?” Justin asked as Carrie walked over to the rest of the lasagna.

“Definitely not you,” Carrie corrected, turning around with a wink. Justin slid down in his chair, again feigning defeat. As she walked back, Carrie went on, “I’m kidding. Thank you, for this not a date.” Justin laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. Carrie blushed a little, stabbing her fork into the lasagna. “It definitely helped.”

A soft smile crossed Justin’s face. “I’m glad.”

That moment hung between them. Stillness moved around them, freezing the air in a perfect second. Carrie tore her eyes away, forcing herself to take a bite of her meal to break the tension. Justin coughed as he turned towards the window. Still, something giddy bubbled in Carrie’s stomach, something she cringed a little to feel. What a cliche high school feeling.

“Excuse me, I’m looking for Justin Moorland.”

Carrie’s face went a hard red. She bent her head down, trying to burn through the embarrassment. Who had wandered into her and Justin having a very-- having lunch? God, she couldn’t stand the rumors that would crop up from this. Or the hell it would raise with Loretta. Oh, God, Loretta wasn’t going to let her live this down, would she? Carrie was basically a dead woman walking out of here now. How ironic to survive this week and die today--

“Hi, can I help you?” Justin asked, leaning passed Carrie. She was comforted to see his face was a little pink as well.

Managing to collect herself, Carrie turned to face their intruder. They were dressed too nicely for Moorland in that bright red dressage coat. Their black hair appeared to have been frazzled from a frantic horse ride, though they smoothed out the loose strands back into their bun.

Taking confident strides forward, the rider approached their table, ignoring Carrie entirely. “My name is Sabine. I am an co-worker of your grandfather. He would like for you to come visit him. I sent you a letter earlier about him wishing to see you.”

“I didn’t know Grandpa Jasper had any co-workers?” Justin replied, confused. Faking confusion. Carrie and Justin’s eye met as she noticed that. Why would he be faking it? “I think you might have--”

“Your paternal grandfather,” Sabine interjected, pulling out an envelope from her coat. “Sorry my letter was lost in transit, I should have trusted the postal service with it. Mr. Sands was married to Baroness Silverglade, though they parted ways on...less than ideal conditions. He would like to repair that relationship your father and grandmother kept from you, if you are willing to visit him.”

Justin took the envelope from Sabine, opening it and reading over the letter. Carrie turned towards Sabine. “Couldn’t he have just called?”

“Mr. Sands is a very busy man,” Sabine answered. When Carrie gave her a skeptical look, Sabine added, “He’s the CEO of Dark Core.”

“And my uncle works at Nintendo,” Carrie answered, folding her arms. She turned towards Justin. “This doesn’t sound a little fishy to you?”

“I need a minute,” Justin murmured, getting up from the table. He walked over to the couch, letter still in hand. Carrie watched him rereading it as he sat down again, a concerned look on his face.

Sabine started to follow him. “I don’t have a minute. My barge leaves for the Dark Core platform in twenty minutes. Either you’re on that ship or you’re not. I expected you to have an answer already. Now I need you to make a decision.”

Carrie watched as Justin’s expression knotted further and further. She had no idea what was on his mind, but she could tell he needed more than twenty minutes to process this. That confusion he was faking, the expression on his face now, Carrie could tell Justin was struggling with this choice. Given a timer now to make this choice-- Carrie walked over to Sabine, asking softly, “You really from Dark Core?”

Turning around, Sabine scowled at Carrie. “Yes.”

“Can you prove it?” Carrie asked.

Sabine kept her brows down, but pulled out an ID from her pocket. Carrie looked over the little plastic Dark Core card. She hadn’t heard the best things about the company, but at least Sabine wasn’t lying. Carrie tilted her head towards Justin. “You’re really sudden, and this sounds like pretty big news that you gave him. Give me a minute to try for you?”

The rider’s brows softened. “I have twenty minutes.” With that, she marched off.

Carrie shook her head, not sure why she wanted to help such a-- This was about Justin, not her. She walked over to the couch, sitting down beside Justin. She looked at the letter, though forced herself to stop after a moment. Not her place to read it. “What’s up?”

“I don’t know what to do,” Justin murmured. “My dad always said his dad was the worst, when he would even talk about it. I grew up thinking the guy was some kind of monster.”

“There’s a but coming up, huh?” Carrie pushed, leaning back on the couch.

“He wants to try having a fresh start, with everyone,” Justin stated, showing Carrie the letter. Carrie skimmed the line where Justin’s finger was. “But he thinks I’m the only one would give him an attempt at it. Considering I just gave my other grandfather another chance, maybe that’s only fair of me to try.”

“Why not visit him then?” Carrie asked. “You’ve got a ride all lined up.”

Justin folded the letter over his leg. “And what if he is a monster, like everyone said? I’d probably be stuck on that platform with him until someone could come get me off.”

“Or he’s actually a good guy?” Carrie offered, though the statement felt oily on her tongue. This was the CEO of Dark Core they were talking about. She hadn’t heard anything good about that company since she had gotten here. Then again, she hadn’t seen them doing anything wrong, unlike the G.E.D. workers in the area.

“And everyone I know has lied about him?” Justin replied, somewhat defeated.

“People can change?” Carrie shrugged, falling back on the couch. “Seems like you’ve written this off. Why not just stay?”

Justin twitched his lips, turning away. “This is the second letter I’ve gotten from my grandfather about visiting him.” He turned his head up towards the support beams and the little carvings Carrie had noticed in the boards. “And she would have wanted me to try. I know she would have.”

A guilty growl ran through Carrie’s stomach. Of course, the dead, kind mother would have wanted him to, not that either of them would be able to prove that. Carrie took a deep breath. “Look, this is totally shady, I get it. But Sabine is at least who she says she is. She works for Dark Core, and as sketchy as the company may be, that doesn’t mean the employees are all the worst. So maybe your grandpa is just part of a shady board, or Dark Core just gets a bad rap. Also, that’s a handwritten letter, apparently one of two. You’ve gotta mean something to him for him to take the time to write those and then send a lackey to come get you for a visit. Again, twice on the personal deliveries.”

“It’s just so weird,” Justin said.

“Weird! Justin, the first day I was here we drove over the largest stone bridge probably in existence like it was normal. The person in charge of Fort Pinta is a 12 year old. There’s a religious sect who ran off with your last stable hand,” Carrie exclaimed. “And then I got asked on not a date by this big doofus today!”

Justin laughed, the beginning of a smile cracking through. “Doofus?”

“Yeah, doofus,” Carrie replied, playfully smacking Justin over the back of his head. “Look, life’s weird. This place is weirder. But sometimes when you try weird things you get to eat lasagna with a really--” Carrie bit down on her lip, a flustered expression on her face. “A really nice guy,” she corrected. She shook her head. “You should try. I think you’ll feel better if you do. You can call if anything goes wrong and I’ll call the cops.”

“Really?” Justin pressed.

“Really,” Carrie stated emphatically.

Squeezing the letter, Justin nodded. “Thank you, Carrie. I really appreciate it.”

Carrie shrugged. “I’m just trying to be a friend doing a nice thing for another friend.” She squeezed his hand, sincerely believing that statement. And praying this would go well. “Go catch that boat.”

[ginnyzero]

Completely Harmless Ch. 47

Completely Harmless An SSO SilverGlade Re-imagining Story (Or Fix it Fan Salt fic) By Ginny O.

When Lily and her friends wanted to buy horses and were directed to the Silverglade Manor and its myriad of problems, they didn’t expect to start a revolution. They were just a bunch a stable girls. Completely harmless. Right?

A/N: Things are only canon if I say they’re canon. Pre-Saving the Moorland Stables compliant for the most part. Posted in its entirety on my website. Posted in 2000 to 4000 word bits here. Rated T for Swearing Word Count 177,577

Chapter Forty-Seven The GREAT Jon Jarl OR Helping the Weeping Widow

They rode south through the Hollow Woods, took the road up past the old Summer House that now made a serviceable stage, and down the hill, and then along the road to the tomb of Jon Jarl near Doyle’s Abbey and Fort Pinta.

They left the three horses outside.

“Do you have the Sun Seal?” Lily asked. “I forgot to,” she rolled her eyes. “Brain,” she gestured over her head like it had gone completely out her head.

“I do,” Linda said and dug it out of her bag. She’d wrapped it in velvet and felt. Unwrapping it she handed it to Lily.

“Okay, so, what do we do?” Lily said.

“No idea,” Linda said.

Lily rolled her eyes. She went over to the door and examined it. There was a slot in the  sun. Lily fitted the seal into the slot. The sun sign on the door glowed pink and then the entire door turned pink and disappeared.

Torches puffed to life behind the door and revealed a passage. The three walked into the passage turned a corner and went down a spiraling ramp. At the bottom was another door, this time with a moon symbol and a missing moon shaped hole.

But there was also a deep hole. As they approached, it started to glow with white lines. They crisscrossed the surface of the hole and turned into the symbol for the sun circle. Then white orbs flew upwards. A blue light flickered in the white orbs.

The air turned cold.

The hair on the back of their necks stood up.

The blue light took shape and into a ghost.

“I am Jon Jarl.” It boomed. “Son of Jor and forever guardian of Jorvik and its protectors from beyond the grave. Who is it that opens the first portal to my final resting place?”

Lily raised a brow. “Yeah, I’m sticking with naughty. Jon Jarl, I’m Lily. This is Linda of the Moon Circle and Alex of the Lightning Circle.”

Jon Jarl peered at her.

Their breath puffed in front of their faces as the temperature dropped more.

“What circle are you?” Jon asked. “You didn’t introduce yourself with a circle.”

Lily raised her brows. “Look, the seal wasn’t hidden that well and you’re lucky no one found it before this. So, let’s cut to the chase before worrying what circle I might be, if any. We’re here for the Fragment of Aideen’s Light.”

“The Fragment of Aideen’s Light,” Jon said.

“Yes. We have the Star Fragment, but we have a mission that we need the Sun Fragment. Which, I’m presuming is here.” Lily gestured around. “In this distressingly bare chamber. Would some carvings hurt?”

“You presume correctly. I can give it to you. If you prove your worth and I determine your heart is in the right place. If I’m satisfied with your answers, I’ll give to you a true Fragment of Aideen’s Light.”

“So, if there are true fragments, that means there are also false fragments,” Lily pointed out and flicked a finger in the ghost’s direction.

Jon Jarl didn’t say anything.

“Fine, ask me your questions,” Lily waved her hand expecting him to ask her what she needed it for and why.

“Who do you represent?” Jon Jarl asked.

“Right now, the Weeping Widow in the Forgotten Fields.”

That too Jon Jarl aback.

“Didn’t you have something to do with why she’s a widow in the first place?” Linda asked looking at her nails.

“I did,” Jon Jarl said slowly. “Um, the Keepers of Aideen had a leader, who I assume is still causing trouble today?”

“You mean Elizabeth Sunbeam,” Lily snorted. “Not here on her behalf, request, with her blessing or permission.”

“If I give you what you came for then in principle you’re acting in my name. Therefore I must be sure you know who I am. Which year did I land on Jorvik?”

Lily held up a hand. “Hold up. We’re here for a major artifact and you want to do a pop history quiz. Linda, are those papers still on your clipboard.”

Linda smirked. “They are.” She went and got it and returned.

Lily took out the clipboard. “This is you. This is when you landed. This is you and about your tomb and Governor Gareth.”

Jon Jarl flickered in and out and grumbled. “You’ve done your research.”

Lily rolled her eyes.

Jon puffed himself up. “Is it my greatest wish to protect and serve Jorvik and Aideen?”

Linda answered this one. “Not until the end of your life.”

The ghost disappeared.

“Touchy subject,” Lily said.

Linda stalked over and looked down the well. “You were an idiot and you’ve earned this tomb, Jon Jarl. They bound you here to contemplate upon your misdeeds and beg for forgiveness for your actions that hurt Jorvik and put the balance of power between this world and Pandoria at risk and gave the generals leverage to try and free Garnok.”

“We’re giving you a chance to rectify that mistake in part.” Lily shouted down. “By helping the Weeping Widow connect to her fellow trees. Are you going to hide like a coward, or will you help and commit restitution. Words are nothing by empty air. It’s by your deeds that you’re known. Think of your honor, Jon Jarl son of Jor.”

The ghost flickered back to life and glared at them. He had one more question. “Will you do everything in your power to serve the Keepers of Aideen?”

“No.” Lily said flatly. “I will not give my life in service to a group that I know nothing about. You can’t ask that of me. That’s dishonorable Jon Jarl and you know it. Will I help Jorvik to the best of my ability? Yes. Will I dedicate my life to it? I’m only supposed to be here for a summer, so I can’t commit to that. We are still children, Jon Jarl. Not even Kings required oaths of service until knights were of age. And you’re no king of mine.”

Jon Jarl flickered in and out rapidly, clearly angry and agitated. “I am disinclined to acquiesce to your request.”

“Then your honor can remain stained and dark,” Lily said. “It’s no never mind to me, Jon Jarl.”

“Moon Rider,” Jon Jarl boomed.

Linda crossed her arms. “I know what you did.”

“Lightning Rider,” Jon turned to Alex.

“Uh. No. Don’t try to drag me into this. I’m pretty sure there are lots of tales about trying to cheat death and the cost it brings. You’re lucky you’re just a ghost.”

“You could be Galloper Thompson,” Linda said sweetly.

The ghost vanished again, swirled up and shouted. “Don’t speak that name to me!”

Alex glared at him. “Do you know how many times a lunar cycle I have to go and check the rune stones around here because you were a frickin’ idiot? I’m not in your corner. Give us the Sun Fragment of the Light of Aideen and we’ll go in your name help make restitution for the things you ordered and did.”

Jon Jarl seethed. But he was caught in a trap.

“Or we can spread the truth,” Linda said. “I’m very popular and people believe what I say because they know it will be properly researched, cited, and indexed.”

“Very well,” the ghost grated out. “I will give you the Sun Fragment of the Light of Aideen. It has no power, but the druids will know what needs to be done.”

“Oh, we know already.” Linda held up the Star Fragment, the light seeping around her fingers, swirling and sparkling.

Jon exploded in a burst of blue light and the white light over the well concentrated almost blinding them. It vanished leaving them blinking and wiping tears from their eyes.

Lily reached out and grabbed a floating crystal that was as dull as the star crystal had been. “You know, he seems like a bit of a blowhard.”

The chill in the air dissipated now that the ghost was gone.

“Aliens, Witches, Ghosts,” Lily muttered. She shook her head. They went back up the ramp.

“It will make a great story,” Alex said.

The sun warmed them as they returned outside.

“I need to warm up. Let’s ride back,” Linda said.

Lily stored the fragment in her saddlebag. “Do I want to know about Jon Jarl and Thompson?”

Linda winced. “Um, I mean, I can tell you, but, er.”

“I take it, it was bad.”

Alex snorted. “He blew up a rune stone!”

“Ohkay,” Lily said. “Yes, a very naughty man.”

They rode back slowly soaking up the sun as Linda told the story about how Jon Jarl had cut down all the trees where the Forgotten Fields were for his stables. Lily interrupted to say they should have grown back by now. Linda shrugged continuing the tale about how when they cut down the mate tree of the Weeping Widow, it was like the area became cursed. The people revolted and well, Jon Jarl sent his men.

Lily interrupted again to say that he should have also gone himself. Linda glared at her. She was telling the story!

Well, they had a battle in Devil’s Gap and only Thompson survived. No one knew how. So, Jon Jarl gifted him with lands and honors and gave him a privileged position. In the stables, there was a black horse that only seemed attracted to Thompson. Rumors began that Thompson wasn’t aging. Struck by anger and jealousy, Jon Jarl demanded to know Thompson’s secret.

Thompson lied and told Jon Jarl that he’d gained immortality by breaking a rune stone. So, Jon Jarl broke a runestone. It made things worse, the stables burnt to the ground. Jon beheaded Thompson on the base of the runestone to make restitution. But Thompson picked his head up off the ground, mounted his black stallion that now trailed fire and smoke, and rode off.

“He made a pact with Garnok,” Lily said flatly. “That sounds like a Dark horse of the Dark Riders we saw in the Fields.”

“Well, Jon Jarl supposedly became remorseful after that and dedicated his life to Aideen,” Linda finished her tale.

Both Lily and Alex snorted in unison.

“Protector of Jorvik and its Guardians, my left buttocks,” Alex said.

Both her and Linda’s horses huffed in agreement.

They got under the trees to the Hollow Wood. By then they were warm again and picked up the pace.

They reached the circle of stones quickly enough.

Dismounting, Lily set the crystal in front of the Sun stone. She traced the circle of the sun with her finger. This time it felt warm.

The sun stone slowly flared to life again. The light concentrated and fell on the stone at Lily’s feet.

The crystal flared to life.

Lily picked it up. “It’s like holding a warm candle.” She said and passed it to Linda.

“It is.” Linda said. She cradled it to her chest, joy on her face.

“Now all we need are the Tears of Aideen,” Alex said.

“We have to gather them from the pink flowers in the Hollow Woods at dawn,” Linda said.

“And not be caught by Elizabeth,” Alex added in a low tone.

“There’s a special flask.” Linda tucked hair behind her ear.

Lily looked up past the waterfall to the mountain. “Let’s check back in.” Already the water was running clear. But they knew the damage had been done to the water, plants, and animals. The Running Bulls would have their work cut out for them to help heal the animals, replant the plants, and neutralize the water as much as they could.

They returned to the site and helped take down the Dark Core’s shack with big hammers. It was cathartic.

There were a lot of cheers and they left the wood debris by the place where they were going to do their beach party bonfire. Waste not. Want not.

--

Lily hadn’t yet mastered the harp. She needed to run down some new gut strings as the one she tried to tune had snapped out of age. She muttered about if it wouldn’t be sacrilege, she’d put tuning pegs in the ancient instrument. So, it required a trip to Jorvik City and a music store. The owner had been shocked to see the instrument, but did have the gut strings she needed.

Leaving Lily to tackle the harp, the rest of the club went and helped the others on what they called ‘the great forage.’ They picked berries and plucked mushrooms. They gathered corn and grains. They delivered wheat to the mills to be ground into flour, and helped gather eggs, and milked cows. A group of girls went together to pick out and buy the beach themed decorations, and crafting supplies they needed.

Cape West, South Hoof, and one of the new clubs went to Eventide, gathered shells on their respective beaches.

The next day food preparations began. The croissants, being laminated pastry, were going to take all day to make. They couldn’t think about filling them until the next day. Watermelon, yogurt, and green apple popsicles had to be layered. The others blended and put into the freezer to freeze. Fruits for the cocktails had to be juiced. The watermelon buckets had to be cut and emptied out so the carver could make them prettier. (She had made lines where it was safe to cut.) Metal buckets had to be painted, some would have snacks, some would hold ice, and others would be decorative and filled with sand and topped with shells. The white paper lanterns had to be painted too in club colors before they could even think about decorating. Though some would remain white for bubbles.

The crawfish would have to be boiled in their special dill, beer, sugar, and salt brine the day before the festivities began.

It was going to take at least three days to get ready between food prep, distribution, and decorating.

The night before the day of decorating, Lily mastered the lyre.

She and Linda snuck out in the early morning up to the Hollow Woods. They met Alex and Melissa who acted as look outs for Elizabeth with their phones and hidden in bushes.

Linda gave Lily a special fluted flask to catch the dew drops off the pink flowers. “And only the pink ones,” she whispered.

They went from flower to flower and Lily carefully only took one dew drop from each flower. It wouldn’t do to make Elizabeth suspicious by having dry flowers and dew covered grass.

By the time their phones buzzed that Elizabeth was coming. They’d gathered enough, they hoped.

They snuck deep into the Hollow Woods snickering like the school girls they were feeling like they’d pulled one over on a beloved teacher.

“Come on, let’s go help the Widow,” Lily said.

Waving at Melissa, who had an entire lake to decorate, they headed west cutting through the Everwind Fields (and weaving around Landon’s sheep) past the race track building. (The skeleton was going up fast.) Starshine met them at the rose arch tunnel. And they went through the quiet and damp rose garden threading it like a needle, past the Riding Arena, through the fjord and all the way across the Forgotten Fields where the Widow slept.

--

The sun had completely risen over the horizon by the time they got there.

Linda dismounted Meteor. She laid her hands on the Weeping Widow’s trunk. “She’s deeply asleep.” Linda removed her hands.

“Then let’s revitalize her,” Lily said.

Meteor neighed.

“You greedy beast,” Linda rolled his eyes. “The faster we do this, Meteor says, the faster we get to eat.”

They all laughed. Typical Meteor it seemed.

Lily took the stopper out of her flask and carefully dripped the tears onto the roots of the Widow.

The Widow shuddered, her branches swayed back and forth, but she didn’t wake.

Lily emptied her flask. “No. Linda. Keep yours. We might need them again.” She held out her hand.

Linda gave her the Sun Fragment.

Lily held it up in the air. It throbbed warming in her hands and light burst out of it, even brighter than the sunlight above them. The light hit the tree.

Orbs of light slowly drifted out of the tree. The tree shivered and the limbs straightened as if she was stretching. Tiny twigs grew out of the ends and leaves burst out.

The light faded, but the tiny orbs of light remained.

Alex’s mouth gaped.

Linda put her hands on the tree. “Good morning,” she said to it.

The tree waved her branches.

“She says that if we go to the edge of the waters where her roots touch the Golden Bay as it becomes the South Silver Waters, we can make them grow to the other side.” Linda lifted her hands.

Lily passed the Sun Fragment to Alex. “Let’s go then,” she said mounting her horse.

They rode to where they could see the roots. Lily unslung the case of the lyre from her back and took it out.

Linda took out the Star Fragment. “It can’t hurt. The Star Circle is a healing circle.”

“Stay close to me,” Lily said and plucked the melody out on the harp.

“Pretty,” Alex said of the melody that went up the scale.

“It was the first time,” Lily told her. “Now it’s annoying.” Her horse stepped out on the water. And light surrounded them, light that seemed to come out of the water itself. It strengthened in places forming a large circle around them, a circle with a star in the center.

Alex and Linda held the Fragments of the Light of Aideen over their heads.

Lily’s horse walked on top of the water and Linda and Alex made sure to keep Tin Can and Meteor close. Starshine trailed just behind them. Lily played the melody over and over, plucking the strings.

Underneath them, the roots of the Weeping Willow wiggled and then grew, growing larger and longer as they stretched.

“I hope she puts them under the dirt later,” Linda said. “That could be a problem.”

“You can mention it to her,” Lily said as she continued to play. Her fingers knew the notes better than her brain did after two days of playing it straight.

Finally, they reached the other side and the light faded under Lily’s horse just slow enough that Meteor, Tin Can, and Starshine were able to make it to land.

They looked behind them over the water. The Weeping Widow’s roots stretched across it.

“Now to go back the long way and talk to her,” Lily said with a sigh.

Linda’s brow furrowed. “You rode across the water.”

Lily pointed at the harp. “Magic lyre,” she said. She reached around and put it back in the case.

Linda and Alex looked at each other.

“And two magic light fragments,” Lily added.

Alex handed the Sun Fragment back to Linda and Linda wrapped them up. She paused. “Here, Lily, you hold onto them.”

Lily frowned but took them. “Okay,” she said slowly. She strapped the harp case to her back and put the Fragments into her saddlebag.

Alex’s phone buzzed. She frowned. “Sonja got in trouble with a rune stone by the Jarlsson Farm. It zapped her. I better go check it out. I’ll probably be draining energy from them all day.”

“Are rune stones supposed to do that?” Lily asked.

“No,” Alex shook her head. “They radiate Pandoric Energy. I keep an eye on them. If they get too much energy, they could explode.”

“We’ll text you what we find out about Lisa and Anne if we feel it’s safe,” Linda promised.

They split at the Forgotten Fields. Alex to go over the Greydew Mountains to get to Jarlaheim and the Jarlsson Farm on Paddock Island. While Linda and Lily went with Starshine back to the Weeping Widow.

Linda got off Meteor and put her hands on the Weeping Widow’s trunk again. The tree swayed and creaked.

“You may want to bury your roots so you don’t back up the South Silver Waters by inadvertently making a dam,” Linda said. “She thanks us by the way. You’re kindness is something that she isn’t sure she can repay.”

“I didn’t do it for a reward.”

“She says Lisa and Starshine helped her open the portal. There is pandoric energy nearby that she’s also been drawing on to help them. But it’s been weakened since they opened the portal and we scared off the Dark Riders. Lisa has left her area of Pandoria in search of Anne and Concorde. They’re much further in. There have been others trying to stop her.” Linda’s brow furrowed. “The Widow thinks that they are the Dark Riders.”

“Thank you for giving us news of Linda and Alex’s friends, who are now my friends because friends of friends thing.”

The Weeping Willow bowed her branches.

Linda removed her hands. She’s going to bury her roots and then take a nap in order to gather her strength. She wishes that her mate could be restored to her.”

“I don’t know to do that,” Lily said.

“Neither does she.” Linda looked upwards at the branches. “I don’t like the sound of Pandoric energy nearby.”

“Me either. Let’s take a look.”

They rode around in circles, as best they could, each time making the circle a little wider. They found a black scar across the land at the base of the Greydew Mountains. They got off their horses and knelt next to it both taking pictures. Linda put her hand on it.

“It looks volcanic.”

“It’s Pandoric,” Linda shuddered. “This was a rift.”

“Isn’t this the way the Dark Riders came?” Lily turned and looked down towards the Widow.

“It is,” Linda murmured. “This must be the rift they came through and hopefully they shut it behind them.”

“A rift?”

“A crack between our world and Pandoria.”

Lily took out the Star Fragment of Aideen’s Light and held it up. The light strengthened and the black rift rumbled, trembled, and then got smaller and disappeared.

Linda ran her hand over the ground and the grass. “It’s gone.”

“Call it a hunch,” Lily said and put the Star Fragment away.

Linda sat back on her heels. “I don’t like the idea that there was a rift.”

“Where there’s one, there could be more,” Lily crossed her arms. “Good news is always tempered by bad. We had good news today. This is the bitter after the sweet.”

Linda grimaced.

“This is only the start of the battle, not the victory.”

Linda stood. “It is. We’ve made good progress. Lisa will make it to Anne and we can find them together protecting each other as friends should.”

Starshine whickered in agreement.

They returned to the Winery in silence. Linda texted Alex in vague terms about their finds.

Tomorrow started the Midsummer Beach Party and they had so much to do to prepare! And setting up the cabanas were surely going to need some power tools.

FOR THE ACCOMPANYING IMAGES PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE MY WATERMARK AND CONTACT INFORMATION. THANK YOU. I get it. Some of you might get excited and want to see this stuff in the game, especially the clothes, tack, and pets. However, the only way I want to see this in the game is if I get paid for it. If I see it in the game and I’m not paid for it, there will be hell to pay. You think I’m salty. I’d be angry. Personally, I’m not going to send this info to SSO. If you do, leave my contact information there! Don’t give them any excuses to steal.

Now, I’ll know you haven’t read this note if you leave me comments about how ‘salty’ I am about the game and if I hate it so much I should do something else. I am doing something else. It’s called Mystic Riders MMORPG Project. Mystic Riders however is a very baby phase game. You can check out our plans on the game dev blog. (Skills, Factions, Professions, Crafting, Mini-Games, 25+ horse breeds!) If you know anyone who would be interested and has money or contacts about game making, direct them to the blog.

[ginnyzero]

Completely Harmless Ch. 43

Completely Harmless An SSO SilverGlade Re-imagining Story (Or Fix it Fan Salt fic) By Ginny O.

When Lily and her friends wanted to buy horses and were directed to the Silverglade Manor and its myriad of problems, they didn’t expect to start a revolution. They were just a bunch a stable girls. Completely harmless. Right?

A/N: Things are only canon if I say they’re canon. Pre-Saving the Moorland Stables compliant for the most part. Posted in its entirety on my website. Posted in 2000 to 4000 word bits here. Rated T for Swearing Word Count 177,577

Chapter Forty-Three The Harp.... Lyre of Aideen. Shibby?

Linda woke Lily early. Long before the sun was up. “Come on, we have to go.” She whispered and shoved cocoa and toast into Lily’s hands. Lily groaned. It’d been a late night. Didn’t Linda remember that?

Lily’s horse whuffed and huffed as she got him ready. She patted his nose. “I’m sorry, boy. It has to be done.”

He nuzzled her in understanding. She gave him an extra carrot for putting up with this nonsense.

She and Linda rode to Firgrove. The hooves of their horses clopping dully in the early morning air. They didn’t go into the village proper, which was impossible since the gates were closed for the night still. Instead, they turned up a path that went towards a mountain pass. But they didn’t stay on the zig zagging track for long. Instead, Linda urged Meteor past a large pine tree and onto the grass where there was no path. But if Lily tilted her head and squinted her eye, she could see that there was a flat section that could be a path. No one used it, so it wasn’t worn down.

They had to turn around another copse of firs and continued upwards. There was a pass and around them in large piles were sleeping wolves. The horses lifted their hooves and gently set them back down very carefully. They turned into a shallow basin and inside was the primeval tree that Lily had seen during the trail ride.

“Almost there,” Linda whispered.

Lily reached up to try and touch one of the lights. It slipped through her fingers, brighter in the darkness of the early morning.

Another path led over the bowl again though it wasn’t easy to get over it. They had to walk the horses. And a path led out to a jut in the mountain that overlooked the Silversong River and the Hollow Woods. In the distance, the castle was nothing but a big blue shadow like the mountains.

They stood on the edge of the jut.

“This faces west,” Lily hissed.

“She rode from West to East,” Linda murmured.

“Talk about an opposite,” Lily mumbled.

“Shhh,” Linda gestured.

The sun broke over the mountain behind them and touched the mountains in the distance.

Lily strained her ears and almost didn’t hear it. She hit record on her phone just in case. But she shut her eyes to listen more over the sounds of the wind, the sounds of the early morning birds, as if they were delivered directly to her ears and no one else’s, the sound of harp notes. She hummed along as the same refrain repeated over and over.

The notes died.

Lily opened her eyes to find Linda staring at her.

“Perfect pitch,” Lily explained and turned her phone off. “Maybe it got my humming. Did you hear it?”

“Yes, it was beautiful.”

“The beat seems off though,” Lily murmured. She shrugged. They’d have to figure it out later. Her stomach growled.

So did Meteor’s.

Linda laughed. “By the time we get down Ma Anna’s shop should be open.”

“Good, we can have something more than toast!” Lily half-smiled. “Isn’t that right, Meteor?”

Meteor nodded rapidly in agreement.

They turned off going back down. Lily took a picture of the tree as they did.

Ma Anna’s pastry shop was open and they both got thick slices of Zebra Cake and more Cocoa to wash it down. By the time they were done with that, the transports were up and running so they were able to take a ride to Fort Pinta and hop a bus to Jorvik City.

“Um, can we stop at the party supply store before the museum,” Lily asked Linda with a wince. “Rainbow Week almost ended up a pastel pink disaster thanks to Loretta.”

Linda widened her eyes. “You guys pulled out all the stops. I don’t even want to know where you got the money.”

“Ask us no questions and we’ll tell you no lies,” Lily intoned. “I think you underestimate how much we were able to toss into a pot to get it going. Especially after we covered the Bulldogz share. The event paid for itself and gave us a kitty for this one.”

Linda blinked. “You all tossed money into a single pot.”

“Yeah, part of Club dues. You are paying us to help around the stable and the gardens. So, we take part of that money and put into the Club pot as dues. Then out of those dues we can contribute towards oh, group trail rides, or doing events like Rainbow Week.” Lily shrugged. “We haven’t had a lot of time to do trail rides or train the horses because we’ve been so busy.”

“Well, once we get things settled down, hopefully after the Midsummer, what is it you’re calling it, Midsummer Beach Party?”

“Right, it’s the Midsummer Festival over in Moorland, and the Fort Pinta Beach Party. But we’re going to expand it to make the Beach Party county wide and let Moorland keep the Midsummer aspects of it.”

“Have you talked to Tim about this?”

“Tim?”

“Tim Hooper, he runs the Beach Party as part of the Fort Beach Association.”

“Oh, him, I forgot about him.” Lily rubbed her forehead. “We were going to talk to him about Rainbow Week but then it slipped our minds. No. I haven’t talked to him.”

“He lives here in Jorvik City.”

“And he runs the Fort Pinta Beach Party because why?”

Linda shrugged.

Lily rolled her eyes. “Well, store first so I can see what’s available in ‘beach’ themes. Then I guess we can pound down his door to invite him to this afternoon’s meeting and then the museum. If it’s not too much of a bother.”

“You’re not a bother, Lily.” Linda grinned. “This is exciting. I’ll be documenting it for Jorvikgram.”

Lily groaned.

“You’re going to be a celebrity.”

The store had plenty of decoration types and Linda got plenty of pictures, even insisting that Lily pose among some flowers. “It’s trending.”

Lily did it to make Linda happy. She got her own pictures of the decorations that might fit the ‘beach’ theme.

They found a place to have a snack, and then went and knocked on Tim Hooper’s door. (Phone directories were wonderful things.)

Tim ran his hand through his long hair as he yanked it open. “Yes?”

It was obvious he was not expecting company, and college age.

“Tim Hooper?” Lily asked, just to make sure.

He grinned. “Shibby, that’s me.”

“Right,” Lily breathed. “Um, Tim, so, I’m Lily and I run a riding club in South New Jorvik County and the presidents of the other riding clubs and I are having a meeting this afternoon about the Midsummer Beach Party. As you’re part of the Fort Pinta Beach Association and do the Beach Party there. We’d like to invite you to this afternoon’s planning session.”

“Swag as, that sounds dope,” Tim said. “I’ll be there.”

“Right, the Silverglade Council House. Um be there, or be square?” Lily said tentatively.

“You’re a total tall tree, I’ll be there. Shibby!”

Lily nodded, eyes wide and a smile pasted on her face. “See you then.” She turned around and gave Linda the widest eyes she could. What the hell was Tim on?

Linda shrugged.

The door closed and Lily glanced over her shoulder. Tim was back inside.

“Okay, what drugs is he on? Is this just another Jorvik thing?”

“Tim is in a class of his own.”

“Just wow,” Lily breathed. “Wow.”

Linda giggled and they got on the tram to go to the Museum.

The Museum coordinator wasn’t precisely convinced that it was for a good cause. Linda had to bring up the Baroness’ name several times for him to let them take the harp out of storage. They had to find it among the boxes and medieval saddles and pottery. It had its own specially shaped case. He admonished that it was fragile.

Lily double checked the case over and satisfied it was sturdy, she saluted the museum coordinator with it. “We’ll take good care of it.”

But by the time they got to the bus, Lily was fuming.

Linda gave her an odd look.

“This isn’t a harp, it’s a lyre,” Lily hissed at her.

“It’s a type of harp.”

Lily sighed. “Well, you can’t keep the strings taut all the time. It will warp it. And gut strings depend on tension and thickness to make different sounds.”

Linda stared blankly at her.

Lily muttered under her breath. “And it doesn’t have any pins. This is going to have to be done string by string, by hand, presuming the gut is any good at all.”

Linda blinked.

“This is precisely why I never went into music,” Lily continued to mutter. “All the tuning and retuning.”

Linda ventured a question. “You were into music.”

“I was,” Lily said. “Music and travel most of the time don’t mix when you’re learning.”

Linda nodded not at all understanding.

“Too many teachers. Too many different styles of teaching. It gets too frustrating.” Lily wrapped her arm around the case.

“So, you’ve played string instruments.”

“Guitar, mandolin, um, viola, the idea is the same but in modern instruments, the length of the string also determines the tone of the note.”

“Lisa plays a guitar.”

“It’s not a one to one curve you know,” Lily said. “I’m going to have to play with it and,” she shrugged. “The Weeping Widow might not get her waking up right away.”

“Once you have the hang of it, and I know you’ll get the hang of it. We’ll be able to help the Weeping Widow and she can help us find out more about Lisa and Anne.” Linda nodded her head. “I have faith in you, Lily.”

“Any reason she wants me to do it, and not you. You’re the Soul Rider.”

“I don’t know. Healing is more Lisa’s thing. She was the first Soul Rider to awaken in this generation and bond to her horse.”

“Starshine. How is he doing?”

“Better. He misses Lisa. He’s annoyed that Elizabeth doesn’t want to believe him. I think he’s going to kick down her door.”

“I’d um, pay to see that.”

“Maybe Melissa will catch it on video,” Linda grinned.

“So, who awakened next?”

“I did,” Linda said. “The Moon circle is always second according to my reading. While the Stars have the power to Heal, the Moon has the power to see the past and the present. You don’t need still waters, but the mirror fountain at the garden will help. My visions have been clouded of late. I wonder if it’s Garnok interfering.”

“Or the future isn’t as set as they’d like you to believe. We all make choices. Our choices make us who we are and the intent of those choices matter too.”

Linda nodded. “That’s wise.”

“Harry Potter.”

Linda laughed. “You and your group have all this knowledge from the oddest places.”

“Okay, so Lightning is what? Defense.”

“Defense and offense. Alex has an ability called Soul Strike and she can make wards and shields.”

“And then Anne can travel to and from Pandoria, I think that’s what Alex said.”

“Yes, she can open and close the gates of Pandoria. We all manipulate Pandoria’s energy in different ways you see and for different purposes.”

“And too much Pandorian energy in the mundane world is bad.”

“It’s what changed the Jorvik Warmblood Sports and the Jorvik Starter Ponies to be what they are today.”

“I don’t think we’ve ever gotten really wild to see them.”

“They also can hide themselves if they want,” Linda said and sighed. “They don’t have to change to their true forms if they don’t want to do so. They only reveal themselves to those they trust most. It can take time to form that bond.”

The bus rumbled to a halt outside Fort Pinta.

“It is way past my lunch time,” Lily said.

Linda agreed. So, they made a bee line for the Fort Pinta café. Pia waved at them.

They both had lunch and Linda took a transport back to the winery taking the precious lyre with her with promises of research into the care and tuning of it for when Lily returned.

FOR THE ACCOMPANYING IMAGES PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE MY WATERMARK AND CONTACT INFORMATION. THANK YOU. I get it. Some of you might get excited and want to see this stuff in the game, especially the clothes, tack, and pets. However, the only way I want to see this in the game is if I get paid for it. If I see it in the game and I’m not paid for it, there will be hell to pay. You think I’m salty. I’d be angry. Personally, I’m not going to send this info to SSO. If you do, leave my contact information there! Don’t give them any excuses to steal.

Now, I’ll know you haven’t read this note if you leave me comments about how ‘salty’ I am about the game and if I hate it so much I should do something else. I am doing something else. It’s called Mystic Riders MMORPG Project. Mystic Riders however is a very baby phase game. You can check out our plans on the game dev blog. (Skills, Factions, Professions, Crafting, Mini-Games, 25+ horse breeds!) If you know anyone who would be interested and has money or contacts about game making, direct them to the blog.

[ginnyzero]

Completely Harmless Ch. 35

Completely Harmless An SSO SilverGlade Re-imagining Story (Or Fix it Fan Salt fic) By Ginny O.

When Lily and her friends wanted to buy horses and were directed to the Silverglade Manor and its myriad of problems, they didn’t expect to start a revolution. They were just a bunch a stable girls. Completely harmless. Right?

A/N: Things are only canon if I say they’re canon. Pre-Saving the Moorland Stables compliant for the most part. Posted in its entirety on my website. Posted in 2000 to 4000 word bits here. Rated T for Swearing Word Count 177,577

Chapter Thirty-Five Rainbow Week Fun...

It was Day 3 of Rainbow Week and everyone was still excited.

A frantic phone call from Derek didn’t dampen that excitement. He’d had a whole bag of letters break open and blow away on the breeze. And it would be a tremendous help to him if when they were out and about if they saw them that they’d deliver them for him.

They promised to keep their eyes open for them.

They decided to do their own area before heading to Cape West. Though Tony had tsked slightly over them having sherbet and a cookie for breakfast. She made them Swedish pancakes and dished up bowls of fresh fruit and fried them duck eggs. They couldn’t go until they ate it all.

They all hugged her. She was just trying to look after them!

Judy laughed at them all, “waiting until day three to do your own events,” she teased as she passed out the rose charms to them.

They teased her good naturedly right back.

The strains of the Silversong Quartet drifted on the morning breeze as they slowly rode through the rose arch path to the Moon Garden. Water poured out of the urn being held by Aideen forming a joyful waterfall to the pond below.

The tunnel had been finished with bas relief carvings of horses, roses, and the phases of the moon under the paddock. (Above them, the Jorvik Warmblood Sports had their own special dressage event to show off how they were perfect eventing horses.)

Ducks quacked at them and nosed in the reeds of the pond looking for food. Some swam in lazy circles around the waterfall or just rested letting the current push them about. The Folly gardens were a riot of roses and ‘wild’ blooms such as Queen Anne’s lace and Alium mixed with tall and low grasses like the white Pampas Grass and the aptly named purple fountain grass.

In the middle of the second terrace, inside the rose strewn bandstand, the Silversong Quartet played light spring sounding music. They paused to listen for a couple of songs, but none of them favored string music really.

“There’s classical string music and then there’s epic string music,” Regina said as soon as they were out of ear shot.

They all raised an eyebrow.

“You know, the stuff in movies and trailers,” Regina waved her hand.

Some of them rolled their eyes.

They made beaded headbands, and bracelets and earrings at the tent. They had the option of making topaz ones or making rainbow themed selections. Linda had helpfully provided a display of different gay pride flags.

They had to be careful not to lose any beads. There were ducks seeking attention down here too and no one wanted them to get sick. They scrambled after beads before they hit the floor and a poor duck mistook them for food!

After doing the showjumping event in the Riding Arena, they headed into Cape West.

Jasper was in charge of the Treasure Hunt as it started in East Glade. He provided them with the map, reminded them there was a race in the Golden Woods, and gave them their first clue.

He had races around his farm of course that they’d never tried, so of course, they did those first before going to the Golden Woods and trying the race there.

They were delayed by Chaun and his crashing rainbow. He was still muttering about Brogan.

“We’re trying!” Lily said.

The jumps in The Golden Woods were piles of birch tree trunks, thick hedges of smaller low growing shrubs they still didn’t know the names of, and piles of rocks with yellow flowers sprouting in the cracks. Things that if you didn’t know there was a race there that one could mistake for being natural to the forest. Though the forest was well kept without much dried grasses. The ground was covered in grass and flowers.

Which was good, because dried grasses would lead to fires.

Between doing the race and the finding the next clue of the Treasure Hunt. They found a letter swirling about in front of a gated area. They chased it around and caught it. Reading it over, they decided that it was meant for Captain Brus at Cape West. And surely, the treasure hunt would take them that way. The gated area was part of the clue.

The Treasure Hunt ended up taking up most the day. They ended up on top of a hill where the path was lined with scarecrows (and were chased back down by witches that had been terrifying.) The tree at the top had a golden apple hanging from it but they hadn’t been able to get close. They met Bob and Rob who refused to give them the next clue until they were given cookies.

Fortunately, they had some on hand.

The Labyrinth was a maze and they had to be very careful to look down to watch the water level. Rob and Bob had put floating barrel buoys to mark the path, but they didn’t always help.

In Cape West itself, there were several clues. One from Mayor Klaus who lamented missing his wife as she was still a witch in the Cauldron.

Lily wondered out loud if they had been chased down the hill by a coven of witches or one witch who was very clever with illusions.

“Does it matter? It was scary!” Melody shivered.

“Yeah, can we not do that again?” Stacey said.

The Flaming Trio was playing pop rock on the hill of the Lighthouse so their music could reach out over all of Cape West.

The club paused to have lunch at the café, and get some of the layered rainbow jello dessert. They ended up making suncatchers (and crystal earrings and bracelets and a couple of them cheekily made more headbands, because why not?) Linda had also provided a handy gay pride flag selection information board here too. The beads were different than the beads they had at their pavilion. These were faceted crystals rather than smooth round beads.

“All the better to catch the light!”

“Rainbow power!”

Captain Brus didn’t like his letter. He crumpled it up and tossed it into the Golden Bay muttering about it the entire time. They rolled their eyes and moved on.

The clues led them to the Cape West stable, where they were able to get their charm for their bracelet from the Stable Master.

The clues led back east across a fjord and up the hill.

“This is the path of the Light Ride,” Linn said. “It’s a trail ride that we do in the fall during Happy Horse Week.”

Tyra nodded. “It’s where Aideen first touched down on Jorvik as she raced across the island to give it life.”

“And the UFO behind our North Paddock?” Lily asked.

“Um,” Pauline said.

“No idea,” Linn shrugged.

“You can’t have it both ways,” Lily waved her hands. “So, either that is where the UFO crashed and they came out first, or Aideen, what jumped out before it hit the ground?”

They giggled.

They ended up in another cave of the smugglers and met Bob and Rob again.

“I’d ask how you got ahead of us, but we dawdled,” Lily said dryly.

They at least didn’t demand cookies again.

Brogan was jumping around the clover field. They caught up to him and before they could do much, he asked them to gather him clover. They did it, only for him to disappear again.

They went over the pass and the trees changed slightly, there were less birch trees, but they were mixed with beeches and quivering Aspen.

“This is still second growth forest for the most part,” Brittany observed.

“So, what is the Hollow Woods?”

“Third growth, with all the oaks,” Brittany said with a nod.

The clues led them up to the Old King’s Road. In the distance, they could see a castle.

“That looks rather frightening, like an insane asylum,” Grace said with a shudder.

“It’s a medieval gothic style castle,” Brittany argued.

“And it looks like an insane asylum,” Grace insisted.

They found a sign.

“Marchenghast Castle,” Lily read. “I’m going to side with Grace and say that doesn’t sound pleasant.”

“I wonder if that’s where our missing Count or Countess lives,” Jennifer mused as she gathered up the reins more in her hands.

“Yep, that’s the home of the Marchenghast family,” Linn nodded. “They’re the most powerful family in these parts outside of the Silverglades and the Winterwells.”

Stacey had her phone out. “Marchen means folk or fairy tale. It’s german. While ghast is either to meditate or frighten, afflict, or torment, from Old English.”

“Let’s just keep agreeing with Grace then,” Lily said.

“Why is the road blocked off though?”

“Probably an Avalanche and no one has been around to fix it. It can happen in the winter. They end up locking the Golden Hills off because of ice spirits that come down from the mountain.” Tyra shifted in her saddle seat. “Not that I’ve ever seen any of these ice spirits.”

They all looked at her.

“They say there’s an ice witch locked up in Dino Valley,” Tyra lowered her voice. “And if she ever breaks loose, she’ll try to bring eternal winter to Jorvik.”

“Like, Jadis, in Narnia,” Regina said.

“And never Christmas,” Brittany said.

“Anyways, the ice spirits were hers and now they don’t have a mistress, and they can’t do anything except in the winter,” Tyra shrugged.

“Or, it could simply be wolves,” Lily said. “I like the idea its wolves. Though wolves are pretty harmless unless they’re sick.”

“Like us.”

“No. We’re completely harmless. Not pretty harmless.”

“But I want to be pretty!”

The club members good naturedly bickered over what adverb or adjective they wanted to be as they went down the trail and around what looked like another mini avalanche.

The end of the treasure hunt was a huge fire, where they received a sun catcher they could hang in their windows in the inn. And by the time they finished it was late afternoon.

“Chaun’s rainbow has crashed in the Forgotten Fields,” Elsa observed.

“Somebody ought to go help him,” Theresa said.

“Yes, somebody,” Elsa retorted.

“It’s on the way to Jarlaheim,” Linn pointed out.

So with a few good natured sighs, they trotted off to the Forgotten Fields to help Chaun round up rainbow gold.

They were further later because the pass led past the Goldspur Farm and Idun Goldspur, the intimidating farm wife of Angus, mistook them for some of the Singing Swans and insisted they needed to help around the farm and pick flowers in the forest before they delivered sugar and chocolate to Catherine at the Stablebucks Café.

Brogan was jumping around Greendale Forest celebrating crashing the rainbow again. He wanted grapes and fortunately, they had grapes on them or else they would have had to run to the Storm Garden to pick some. He disappeared with a cackle and a pop.

And Catherine, who was raving over lasagna she’d had with her girlfriend one Rainbow Week, needed more strawberries and blueberries from the forest and would they be so kind.

So, the sun was setting by the time they were able to run the two special races at Jorvik Stables, get their charm from Stable Master Johanna, and make wrist bands. But that was fine because the best time to listen to a rock group like the Miscreants was after the sun set and they could hold up their cellphones. There were lights, lasers, and fog machines, and all in all it was a hell of a show.

They bought boxes of donuts to take with them for breakfast the next day. There were five different kinds at least, one was even filled with a rainbow colored Bavarian cream.

It was so late though when it was over, they ended up taking the transports back to the Manor. They hung up their sun catchers in the window giggling about placement.

But they were exhausted and more than willing to fall into bed.

FOR THE ACCOMPANYING IMAGES PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE MY WATERMARK AND CONTACT INFORMATION. THANK YOU. I get it. Some of you might get excited and want to see this stuff in the game, especially the clothes, tack, and pets. However, the only way I want to see this in the game is if I get paid for it. If I see it in the game and I’m not paid for it, there will be hell to pay. You think I’m salty. I’d be angry. Personally, I’m not going to send this info to SSO. If you do, leave my contact information there! Don’t give them any excuses to steal.

Now, I’ll know you haven’t read this note if you leave me comments about how ‘salty’ I am about the game and if I hate it so much I should do something else. I am doing something else. It’s called Mystic Riders MMORPG Project. Mystic Riders however is a very baby phase game. You can check out our plans on the game dev blog. (Skills, Factions, Professions, Crafting, Mini-Games, 25+ horse breeds!) If you know anyone who would be interested and has money or contacts about game making, direct them to the blog.

[ginnyzero]

Completely Harmless Ch. 34

Completely Harmless An SSO SilverGlade Re-imagining Story (Or Fix it Fan Salt fic) By Ginny O.

When Lily and her friends wanted to buy horses and were directed to the Silverglade Manor and its myriad of problems, they didn’t expect to start a revolution. They were just a bunch a stable girls. Completely harmless. Right?

A/N: Things are only canon if I say they’re canon. Pre-Saving the Moorland Stables compliant for the most part. Posted in its entirety on my website. Posted in 2000 to 4000 word bits here. Rated T for Swearing Word Count 177,577

Chapter Thirty-Four Elizabeth Sunbeam Vs. Baroness Silverglade

They had a ton of mail the next day. Derek moaned how many letters he had to deliver and why couldn’t someone help him. There’d be a nice reward in it for them. He smiled in what they guessed he thought was in a charming way.

“Oh, fine,” Lily rolled her eyes. Derek passed her a bunch of letters. She split them among the girls and they took off to all parts out of the county taking the transports to make it faster. Lily delivered one to the Baroness herself. The Baroness read it and snorted. “That old fool,” she said with a fond smile. “Let me write him back.”

Lily waited and the Baroness gave her a card to give to Jasper. Lily wasn’t sure she wanted to know when Jasper lit up like a light bulb.

Lily returned to Silverglade Village and waited. The other girls came back laughing hysterically at the cards they’d delivered.

Derek pretended he had secret admirer packages for each of them. No one believed it for a moment. They were lovely bows in red. He got a string of kisses on his cheek that made him blush a deep red.

Kate snagged them while they were finishing up with Derek at Silverglade Village. She gave Derek a look. “What did you do to him?”

Lily shrugged.

They trotted off while Derek tried to attend to the next customer.

“That rainbow has been crashing everywhere!” Kate hissed. “Didn’t you see it yesterday?”

“Yes. We did.” Lily said.

“I mean, like every half an hour, all over the county!” Kate waved her hands.

“Have you caught Brogan?”

“You mean the little red guy. Yeah, we found him in the Mirror Marsh. He wanted honey. Then he took off, the little sneak.”

“We’ll keep an eye out for both things,” Lily said.

They stayed long enough to take selfies at the selfi wall. They’d forgotten yesterday. Then it was on to Firgrove and the Red String Trail Ride.

They gathered at the fire at the end of the trail and several muttered about appropriation. There wasn’t really much they could do about it. With Lily and Pauline in the lead, they headed up the trail. Hidden among the flowers and bushes were little foxes.

It started to shower lightly.

As they came to a bend in the path, a cow rested under a tree with their legs folded under them.

Before any of them could do or say anything, a silvery flying disc whipped around the mountain, the bottom opened shining light on the cow and it was sucked up into the UFO mooing helplessly.

“I hope no one important owned that heifer,” Pauline said.

“Um,” Lily gestured.

“Have you seen the UFO yet above the North Paddock?” Pauline asked. “It’s a trip. I’ll have to take you up there. Like, some people believe that Aideen was really the leader of these horse aliens and the horse aliens became what started the Jorvik Warmblood Sport line?”

“So, starbreeds?” Lily asked.

“Anyways, the aliens gave up most of their sentience to trap this squid like alien that had fallen to Jorvik with a meteor into a plane of existence where he couldn’t hurt anyone. Aideen was the only one left and she took on human form and started the druids and found four girls to be her champions naming them soul riders. They control the special powers of the Light in case the alien squid ever broke free.”

Regina knew the reference. “You mean, like Cthulhu. You know H.G. Wells made him up, right?”

“You mean, like Garnok,” Lily said.

Pauline shrugged. “It’s a bunch of stories that the druids believe.”

They turned around a sharp corner.

Lightning struck the path ahead of them. They stopped. The mountain shuddered and a bunch of rock came tumbling down.

“Are we sure this is safe?” Melody asked.

They waited until it was clear and started again.

They path climbed upwards and the rain faded away. Linda and Alex were looking down over Firgrove Forest from the path.

“Hey!” they said.

“We’re headed to the top,” Lily wrinkled her nose.

Elsa piped up. “Obviously.”

“Want to ride with us?” Lily asked with a glare at Elsa.

Elsa grinned at her.

“Sure,” Linda said.

As they headed up, Linda and Alex talked a bit about the ride.

More stones blocked the path, the only way forward was across a large broad tree trunk.

“Hmm, one at a time,” Alex said. “Tin Can and I will go first.”

Tin Can readily hopped onto the log and carefully walked across.

“See, safe as houses!” Alex called back.

The girls rolled their eyes and took the tree trunk one at a time. There was more path on the other side, and it took a shallow dip before heading upwards.

A shallow dip full of sheep, that is. The black and white sheep bawled their lungs out, the bells on their necks chiming as they headed down the hill. Behind them, Andy waved at the riders.

As the path turned, there was a huge ring of mushrooms that they all carefully avoided.

They approached the top and tied red strings to the long lines left for them to do that.

Linda and Alex didn’t think it was the same without Lisa and Anne.

“We’ll find them,” Lily said. “You’re part of our sisterhood now.”

“And we get things done.”

“I mean, we’re stable girls.”

“Horse girls.”

“And horse girls make armies.”

“Completely harmless armies.”

“Yes, completely harmless.”

Lily grinned as the girls chirped up in turn. She nudged Linda. “It’s too late to back out now.”

Linda grinned.

Alex nodded. “Yeah, Lins, one day, you’re going to write the story about us and how we forged friendships and protected Jorvik from unspeakable evil.”

“James?” Lily teased.

Alex shuddered, but she did grin. “Little brothers are evil.”

“He’d say that about big sisters,” Linn told her.

Linda grinned.

“Well,” Alex stretched. “I’m ready for cake!”

“Me too,” Grace agreed.

Meteor whuffled.

Linda laughed. “Meteor is always ready for more food. You’re a greedy beast, my friend.”

Meteor turned his head and nuzzled Linda’s knee. She patted his nose.

After taking pictures of the lake below them, tsking about how even from here they could see that the water was green, they headed back. Curious about the blocked off trail, Lily went down it. Linda went with her. Over the curve of the mountain she could see twisted branches surrounded by white floating lights.

Carefully riding up the side but not going over, Lily looked over the edge. “What’s that?”

“I think it’s a primeval tree,” Linda said and pushed up her glasses. “I’ve seen references to them in books. They’re as old as Jorvik itself.”

Lily carefully backed her horse down. “You mean Aideen planted them.”

“Or her power caused them to appear,” Linda shrugged.

“I’m glad you came with me,” Lily said and fished the seal out of her pocket. “I found this hidden in Fort Pinta.” She passed it to Linda.

“That’s the seal of the Sun Circle.”

“It’s the symbol on Elizabeth’s robes.”

“The Sun Circle is one of the sections of the druids, or the Keepers of Aideen,” Linda said. “I also don’t know much about them. That wasn’t my talent.”

“Lisa?”

“No, Anne actually,” Linda examined it. “I can research this if you like.”

“It was under the Governor’s statue hidden behind the name plate.”

“Not very well, then,” Linda mumbled.

“Not at all,” Lily agreed.

They reached the fallen rocks and turned their horses down into the little valley under the tree and were able to reach the main path from there.

Linda tucked the seal away. “Don’t tell anyone about it until I find out what it’s for,” she murmured.

“Didn’t plan on it. Plus, we’re a bit busy. So, have you been up to see the UFO?”

Linda sniffed. “If it’s been identified, it’s no longer a UFO.”

Lily grinned.

“But has it really been identified?” Tyra asked. “I mean, the metal is like nothing I’ve ever seen.”

Linda rolled her eyes.

--

Between Firgrove and Valedale at the lake, the rainbow crashed. It didn’t precisely put a damper on doing the ‘Trail of Love’ around the lake. Since, all the piles of dirt were along the trail. It certainly made it a bit more interesting. None of them had beaus to do the Trail of Love decorated with rose swags and rose arches and plenty of balloons with after all. So, they were able to joke about it.

On the excuse of looking for piles of dirt for rainbow gold, Lily was able to get close enough to the Dark Core site to see that they didn’t actually have any papers posted. The guard warned her off.

Lily left. There wasn’t anything to be done about it now. They had sturdy fences too with barbed wire. Those were going to have to come down.

Returning the gold to Chaun they went down the trail to the other side of Valedale and the Hollow Woods.

The craft tents to make rose wreaths had been set up across from the Championship and behind the house of one of the druids. They made wreathes of yellow roses and went across the bridge to the stable to claim their charm from Claire.

And as they did, a very familiar car pulled up. Godfrey parked it, got out of the driver’s seat and buttoned his suit jacket shut before opening the back door and holding out his hand. Baroness Silverglade took it and slid out of the back with her feet appearing first and then the rest of her.

Lily approached her. “Good morning, Baroness.”

“Is it?” The Baroness asked with a raised brow.

Lily blinked. “That depends on how it has been going, I suppose.”

“The pictures on Jorvikgram have been very illuminating,” the Baroness said. She turned to face the waterfall. Her jaw clenched slightly. “Nice hat,” she said.

Lily twitched. It was a complete and total non sequitur. “Thanks.”

Folding her hands in front of her, the Baroness strode off to Elizabeth’s cottage.

Lily followed her on her horse. She wasn’t about to forsake the high ground or let the Baroness face Elizabeth alone. Not that Lily thought the Baroness expressly needed her help.

“Ms. Sunbeam,” the Baroness said.

Elizabeth smiled, but it was frosty and polite. “Baroness Silverglade.”

“Let’s dispense with the pleasantries. We’re civilized people. Tell me, Ms. Sunbeam, what are your plans for dealing with the corruption of the waters that has risen on your watch of this village?”

Elizabeth paled. “I’m not at fault here.”

“You’re the de facto leader of this village, and I’ve allowed it as this is a small place without the necessary population for a representative council. The druids have long made their home here in Valedale and I have respected your ties to this town. This,” the baroness gestured, “is a gross abuse of that trust.”

“That is to be blamed on Dark Core, not upon us.”

The Baroness took a step forward. “When were you going to tell me about this? Why did I have to hear about it from a third party?”

Elizabeth’s eyes flicked to Lily.

“It wasn’t Lily’s responsibility,” the Baroness said voice hard. “This was happening before she learned about it. This is going to affect half the Barony, more, if it gets into the water table. There’s a duty of care towards these people, the people in your village.”

“I tasked Avalon,” Elizabeth started.

“Avalon,” the Baroness’ voice turned sharp. “That dreamer,” she gathered her skirt in one hand and stalked down the hill and over the bridge.

Elizabeth hurried after her. “Baroness,” she said.

“Avalon,” the Baroness barked. “Your attention in this realm of existence, now.”

The druid pacing back and forth in front of his house stopped. “I am here and now. It’s very hard to contemplate and concentrate with all these people tramping about.”

The Baroness stopped in front of him. She met his eyes. “The waters, Avalon. Ms. Sunbeam says she tasked you with taking care of it passing on responsibility.”

“Hmm, well, I was going to convince them to leave, but the girls wouldn’t help me,” Avalon said in a low voice.

“What he means,” Lily spoke up, “Baroness Silverglade, that he wanted Kate and the other girls to drug the Dark Core members and then they’d be compelled to leave.”

The Baroness trembled. “For as long as the drug lasted. Do you truly believe that Mr. Sands would give up that quickly?”

Avalon hummed.

The Baroness shook her head. “Their fear of him is stronger than any drugged suggestion by you. And asking young women to do your dirty work, Avalon, that’s beneath your honor.”

“I have much,” Avalon started.

“I don’t want to hear it,” the Baroness’ voice was like a slap. “No one,” her voice rose, “is to drink from the Silversong until this is sorted out. We will have to bring in water from Dundull after it has been tested to be safe.” She turned to Elizabeth. “I will deal with this, and consider yourself on probation, Ms. Sunbeam.” The Baroness stalked past her.

Elizabeth glared at Lily.

“And don’t blame Lily,” the Baroness said over her shoulder. “You brought this on yourself when the first thing you did was nothing. Also, you’re three times Lily’s age and know better. If you are going to say you’re Aideen’s shield, be Aideen’s shield, and defend Jorvik.” The Baroness said and was then out of earshot.

“You’re going to bring trouble down on all of Jorvik,” Elizabeth said.

“Trouble has already knocked down the gates.”

“You’re not the one to take it on.”

“You’re waiting on someone? That’s all Mr. Sands has to do to win is continue to move while you wait for someone, I take it, special. You have a hammer, Ms. Sunbeam. Unfortunately, not every problem is a nail.”

Avalon choked.

“If Mr. Sands and the G. E.D. are going to do business in the real world, business that you also do in the real and mundane world. They’re going to have to deal with what the mundane world requires. If Mr. Sands is as old or older than I believe he is, then he knows this and his neglect to follow procedures is a sign of his absolute arrogance and self-assurance that you will do nothing to hinder him. And so far, he’s been right.”

Lily’s horse sneezed into Elizabeth’s face.

“If you had gotten to it quickly, you could have used your hammer, Ms. Sunbeam,” Lily said. “Now, we’re going to require a crowbar. It is much easier to stop something before it starts, then to get rid of something that’s been entrenched. Dark Core are entrenched on that mountain with one way in and one way out.”

Elizabeth pressed her lips together and refused to budge.

Lily didn’t care. Her horse cavorted around Elizabeth as she rejoined her friends on the other side of the bridge. They had a special orienteering exercise to do and a harpist to listen to.

They did run into Brogan again. His cauldron was stuck in some briars. They got it out for him and away he popped before they could snatch him up by the collar.

Little pest.

--

Listening to the harpist calmed Lily down and they decided to spend the rest of the afternoon back in Firgrove listening to the talent show Mr. Wetton was using to recruit new talent.

Sure, most of the performers probably weren’t going to be the greatest, but the air was warm and the grass soft.

Also, the rainbow crashed in the field nearby more than once.

It was by all accounts, an idyllic afternoon.

That evening they headed out to Dundull for their bonfire trail and then the romantic lake side ride after it. They braided leather headbands and bracelets and made earrings out of feathers collected in Dundull forest. A handsome ranger was the one to hand out charms much to the giggles of most the girls.

Mistfall was an extremely tranquil, if a bit manicured, forest. The rainbow decorations stirred slightly in the breezes and the trees that had white bark and red leaves were quite romantic. Lily could see the appeal.

Not that she wanted to leave Silverglade Equestrian Center. They were invested.

FOR THE ACCOMPANYING IMAGES PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE MY WATERMARK AND CONTACT INFORMATION. THANK YOU. I get it. Some of you might get excited and want to see this stuff in the game, especially the clothes, tack, and pets. However, the only way I want to see this in the game is if I get paid for it. If I see it in the game and I’m not paid for it, there will be hell to pay. You think I’m salty. I’d be angry. Personally, I’m not going to send this info to SSO. If you do, leave my contact information there! Don’t give them any excuses to steal.

Now, I’ll know you haven’t read this note if you leave me comments about how ‘salty’ I am about the game and if I hate it so much I should do something else. I am doing something else. It’s called Mystic Riders MMORPG Project. Mystic Riders however is a very baby phase game. You can check out our plans on the game dev blog. (Skills, Factions, Professions, Crafting, Mini-Games, 25+ horse breeds!) If you know anyone who would be interested and has money or contacts about game making, direct them to the blog.