119. Empathized

We were all up with the sun in the morning. Laoise started making breakfast while Keira and I were put to work with the horses again, and Kelly helped Padraig and Siobhan take down the tents and pack everything up.

Breakfast was a few strips of bacon on a crusty toasted bun, washed down with a little wine. Then we all helped properly clean the pots and pans and dishes, before they were put away with the gear and loaded on the horses.

In all it was only about an hour after sunrise before we were on the move again, continuing our way north east towards Duma Dé.

Siobhan kept us moving at a good pace. We weren't pushing the horses but we weren't taking it easy either. And for the twins and I it was definitely another crash course in how to ride a horse.

There wasn't much talk through the day. For me at least most of my attention was on getting comfortable in the saddle so I might not be so stiff and sore when we stopped this evening.

When we did finally stop at the end of the day, Siobhan had Kelly and I switch jobs. I was helping the captain and Padraig with the tents this evening, while Kelly and Keira tended the horses. Things went fairly smoothly I thought, mostly because I just did what I was told and otherwise stayed out of the way.

I was still curious about Laoise, and once we had the tents and bedrolls set up I sat down and watched as she went about preparing our dinner. The meal looked like it would be a repeat of last night, which was fine. As I observed, I started to pick up little details that soon had me thinking she'd been forced out of the clann guard because of an injury.

She seemed to be favouring her right hand or right arm, from what I could see. Any lifting or anything requiring strength she did with her left hand, while lighter work or precision work was done with her right hand.

Soon enough she had a pot of water boiling for rice while meat and vegetables were cooking in a second pot. She glanced at me and smiled, "Tell me ma'am, is it my cooking that fascinates you? Or is it something else?"

I blushed at having been caught staring.

"Please just call me Tegan," I said, then replied "And I'm curious about that spell you use for cooking. But I'm also curious about you. Siobhan said you were retired but you seem a little young for retirement."

Laoise nodded slightly as she stirred the meat, then admitted "My 'retirement' was not by choice, but due to necessity."

I frowned, "You were forced out? Why, if I may ask?"

She hesitated, then unbuttoned her jacket and slipped it off. Underneath she was wearing a dark green silk blouse. She pulled up the right sleeve, revealing a set of three large thick scars a little below her shoulder.

My stomach lurched slightly, I knew those scars well. Now I knew why she didn't carry a sword, why she couldn't draw a bow. The crossbow made sense, she could hold the weight of it with her left hand while firing with her right hand.

"I'm sorry Laoise," I sighed. "If I'm not mistaken, you've had those scars for twenty-eight years now?"

She let her sleeve drop back into place and her attention returned to the food. She nodded, "Yes Tegan. From the look on your face, I take it you know what sort of creature leaves marks like that."

"I know them all too well," I replied. I patted my right thigh, "I have a matching set. Kelly and Keira take care of the ongoing healing spells for me."

Laoise stared at me in shock as that sank in. She finally asked, "Does it not hinder you, m'lady? Do you not experience the weakness and the pain?"

"Sure," I shrugged. "Every other day it aches. Sometimes it's worse, sometimes it's better. I can walk a couple leagues, but I can't march any distance, I can't climb too many stairs, and I can't carry much. I can't even run more than a couple paces. I've never seen the view from the north tower of castle Brádaigh. Luckily I can work around it. I can teleport, ride horses, and on Earth we have vehicles to travel around in."

She looked thoughtful as she listened to me, then said "Thank you for trusting me with that information. I had no idea... I assume it happened when you rescued Lord Connor?"

I nodded, "Yeah, it's been about five and a half years now. Still looks and feels like it was just a day or two ago though."

"It will start to improve some time after the first decade," Laoise said. "Though I don't believe it will ever fully heal. It's nearly three decades for me and it remains a distinct liability."

I sighed, "I'm sorry Laoise. I've been trying to figure out a cure, and if I ever do come up with a solution I will share it with you."

"Thank you m'lady," she smiled slightly. "If there is a cure to be found, I am sure you will be the one to find it."

"Please call me Tegan," I reminded her as I smiled back at her.

I felt like the two of us had sort of bonded over that shared experience. By now everyone else had joined us, and the food was just about ready. Laoise handed each of us a bowl of the meat and vegetables and rice, and of course the wine skins were passed around again.

As we ate, Laoise commented "Tomorrow morning we'll have the last of the bacon and bread, and tomorrow evening will be the end of our fresh meat. So please enjoy it, the day after I'll be making do with preserved meats."

Padraig volunteered, "If we come across any game trails in the woods, I could try and get us some more fresh meat."

"We'll keep that in mind," Siobhan said. "It would mean stopping a day for a hunt, yes?"

He nodded, "Yeah, that's why I wouldn't suggest it unless we actually find a fresh trail or some sign of game in the area."

I knew there were some spells that would help with hunting. Ways to lure animals closer, and to keep them from taking flight. I kept quiet though, since it wasn't a priority. I didn't want to kill some cute bunnies or deers or foxes. And I had no interest in finding out what squirrels or badgers tasted like.

Once we'd all finished eating the pots and bowls were cleaned then we turned in for the night. As usual I was cuddled up between my girlfriends, and all three of us quickly fell asleep.

Our second morning on the road was more or less a repeat of the previous. Five of us broke camp and started packing things up on the horses while Laoise got breakfast ready. Then we all ate, and finally the cooking gear was packed away and we got moving.

Siobhan had us maintain a fairly good pace, but today there was more talking. Kelly and Keira and I got to know Padraig and Laoise a little better, and the two of them learned a bit more about the three of us.

We found out that not only were Laoise and Siobhan related, they were actually sisters. Siobhan was about eighty years older than the brunette. Out of the six of us, the captain seemed the least interested in talking and she almost looked embarrassed when her younger sister revealed that the two of them were family.

I still had no idea why Siobhan volunteered for this trip but now I sort of wondered if it was for her little sister's benefit. Maybe she felt guilty that Laoise was injured and forced to retire, or maybe she knew her sister wanted to visit Duma Dé and wouldn't otherwise get the chance. Or maybe she just wanted to give her little sister some adventure. Whatever the reasoning, it was unlikely Laoise would have been in a position to accompany us if Siobhan wasn't here.

Padraig's story wasn't as exciting. His family had served my family for a couple generations, he joined the clann guard as soon as he was of age. He was skilled with the bow like Siobhan said, and he was also pretty good with the sword. He was an excellent rider and tracker. That's why he was selected for our first trip to Duma Dé, and apparently I made enough of an impression on him that he was eager for the chance to travel with me again.

The twins and I told our fellow travellers a little more about what happened recently on Earth, how the king made it more or less impossible for us to continue our quiet peaceful life. We also told them about the assassination attempt the prince arranged. That shocked and upset all of three of them.

Fortunately we hadn't run into any trouble or resistance on this trip. Like Laoise warned, the fresh food ran out on the third day. She still had some root vegetables, but dinners were mostly boiled salted meat and rice or barley, and breakfast was boiled salted meat and oatmeal. At least the meals were hot, and boiling the meat softened it. Plus Laoise had some herbs and seasoning that added some flavour to the food, so at least it was palatable.

Still, once we got into the forest Padraig kept his eyes open for any sign of game.

We were lucky to have good weather again. The nicest days were warm and sunny with a bright blue sky. The worst it got was a stiff breeze and partial cloud cover. Travelling through the woods shielded us from most of the wind though, so it worked out ok.

In the end we didn't stop for a hunt, Padraig didn't see any trails that were fresh enough to make it worth the time. And Siobhan kept us moving at a good pace, so we were ahead of schedule when we emerged on the north side of the woods shortly after we got moving on the seventh morning.

The terrain beyond the trees was flat with low rolling hills, but instead of tall grasses it was rugged and rocky, and the grass was short and scruffy. And just like on our first trip, the weather had turned by the time we got here. Like last time, the sky was now grey and overcast. There was even a slight chill in the air now, despite it being the end of May. Or maybe it was the beginning of June, I'd lost track of the days again.

Siobhan kept us moving at the same pace. There was no way to get a good idea of time, with the overcast sky we had no way of knowing where exactly the sun was. It felt about midday though when the Duma came into view ahead of us. The cloud cover reminded me of something else. When I met my ancestors, the stars were out. I wasn't sure if that was an important detail, but it was a noteworthy distinction between that visit and the two times I'd been here in person.

Just like I remembered from almost six years ago Duma Dé sat in the middle of a large relatively flat clear space, a kilometre or so across. It rose from the ground like a large, perfectly circular hill with a flattened top. A hundred meters across at the base, thirty or forty meters across at the top, and some fifteen or twenty meters high.

And like before, I could see small points of light dancing around at the top. The pixies were still here, still guarding the Duma.

As we approached, Siobhan said "We'll set up camp at the base, same as last time. Laoise, how are we for supplies, how long can we stay?"

The brunette replied "We've gone through the preserved meat a little faster than I bargained for. I think three days is about it, if we want to guarantee food all the way back home."

"Understood," I said. "I hope it'll be quicker than that, but I have no idea."

As soon as we reached the base of the Duma we all got to work. We'd been shuffling jobs every day of the trip, except Laoise who only did the meals. I understood why of course, she couldn't really help with any of the other work. Even I struggled with some of the heavy lifting, between my leg and the fact that I was just generally weak to begin with.

After the camp was set up and the horses taken care of, it felt like we still had an hour or two of daylight left. Everyone seemed eager to visit the Duma so all six of us climbed the slope together. We didn't bother leaving anyone to guard the camp, there didn't seem to be anyone else around.

Apart from Keira and Laoise, we'd all been here before. That visit was all business though, we weren't really here for the Duma Dé and we didn't hang around and appreciate it.

Once we got to the top the six of us spread out a little, though Kelly and Keira wouldn't go too far from me. And I noticed Siobhan stayed sort of close to her younger sister.

"Eileen never came back up to take care of her men," Kelly said quietly. She'd just noticed the remains of the two men where our confrontation happened.

The remains were like I'd seen them last time I was here, when I met Taralynn and Aisling. One was more or less intact, dried bleached bones inside chain and plate armour. The other was scattered fragments of bone and twisted metal.

Siobhan replied, "Anything that's left up here belongs to the Duma. The stories vary, some say things left here are claimed by the pixies. Others say anything left behind is an offering to the Gods. Either way, it's considered very bad form, very unlucky, to try and remove anything that was left here. Unfortunately that includes bodies."

I was glad to finally understand why they were abandoned here, but I still felt bad for the men. And I still didn't like to have that constant reminder. Like before, I said a little prayer for their souls.

We were probably up there an hour, with everyone having some quiet time to themselves to pray or just contemplate the location and the stories. Or enjoy the view, such as it was.

Eventually Siobhan suggested, "We should return to camp and take dinner."

As the six of us started to make our way back down the slope towards camp, the captain looked at me and said, "I'm not sure it's wise for you to spend too much time alone up here, especially not at night. If you don't mind saying, what is it you plan on doing here?"

I shrugged, "Just sort of sit and pray? I want to try and commune with my ancestors, the Gods, whoever else around here will listen."

Siobhan nodded quietly. She seemed to accept that explanation, and perhaps she even respected it.

Laoise commented, "It'll be full moon in a day or two I think. Hard to tell because of the clouds. I wonder if that might make a difference?"

Neither I or Siobhan knew the answer to that.

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