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| Vale of the White Horse | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: 5 Jan 2010, 13:03 (19,292 Views) | |
| Sonja | 31 May 2010, 13:33 Post #3361 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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Tudwrig rubbed his temples before gingerly getting up from the floor. He was in his own room, thank the gods. Since the times he realized he was somewhere he could not remember going were getting more frequent, he'd asked Eiluned to not only bolt his door, but have one of the carpenters construct a large cross beam for the outside as well. He still had no clue how he could've gotten out with the room firmly closed, but the cross beam seemed to keep him from doing it again. The only problem was that he could not get out when he wanted to, either. But they'd found a solution for that as well. Tudwrig tied a long ribbon to the shutters of his window and threw them open. He had to wait for quite some time, which he didn't really mind. The fresh breeze, though cold and moist from earlier fallen rain, cleared the cobwebs from his mind. When he heard the cross beam being lifted and the bolt pushed away, he stepped away from the window. Eiluned peered in. 'How are you feeling, my lord?' she asked. 'As well as I can be. How long?' The older woman opened the door in its entirety. 'Three days.' Tudwrig nodded. He could have guessed: he felt weak and thirsty. 'Did anything happen?' 'Lord Lentulus stopped by yesterday. He said he had something of importance to discuss with you.' When didn't the Roman, Tudwrig wondered. He sighed. 'Too bad for him, I don't feel like talking to him right now.' Eiluned smiled. 'The new man in your service is doing his job well. He's only asked for an advance on his pay, since he and his are short on supplies.' 'Very well. Give him rations from our stock.' When he saw Eiluned's face cloud over, he hastily continued: 'I know we are getting low on our supplies, too, but I cannot have anyone from my people starve. They don't think me much of a chieftain already, I don't want to aggrevate it.' 'You don't have to justify yourself, my lord,' she answered correctly. 'I will see to it after I've given orders to the kitchen for your food.' Tudwrig nodded. 'Thank you, Eiluned.' With that, she turned on her heel and bustled off. He leaned against the doorpost, passing a hand over his face. Usually it wasn't so important to him how many days passed when he was under the curse, but he had promised Briallen to count the cycle of the moon until her return. He started hating his spells of being in control, since they were so utterly void of her presence it hurt him to the core. Even though she didn't actually sleep in his bed, it felt colder than usual without her around. Tudwrig wallowed in misery for a while before pulling back his shoulders and following in Eiluned's footsteps. Briallen would not like to return only to find him all but starved because he had no real appetite. |
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| Marieke | 31 May 2010, 13:36 Post #3362 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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He was riding fast, covering large amounts of ground each day. If he could only fly, Rhywallon though, then he’d speed over the forest with eagle’s wings. That he was here, free to ride at will while Gwenllian sat captivated in the Roman’s tent, made his heart bleed. It was unfair. But it was there; he couldn’t change it. All that was left for him was to be quick and return swiftly. If the Roman thought he had him down on his knees, then it was only because he wanted to kneel for Gwenllian and kiss her hands. Two Lakes. He wasn’t there yet, but it would not take long. What kind of thorough warning could he give without hurting the people of the caer too much? The thought of attacking them, innocent as they were, sickened him. It had surprised him that he’d been allowed to travel alone. Well, it was not so surprising maybe – what choice did he have but to do as he was told? The Roman was cruel but he was also clever and not incapable of reading people’s faces or understanding how deep emotions could run. |
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| Sonja | 31 May 2010, 14:06 Post #3363 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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Rufus had promised he would leave Essylt's friends alone, but he had said nothing about his men doing the same. So both Morcant and Cuhelyn were being tailed - the latter giving him more problems because he was very hard to find and even harder to keep tracking him. Rufus was very put out with his men because of that. Morcant didn't seem to do anything suspicious: he went to the caer in the mornings and returned at sundown to the settlement. Sometimes he went into the forest, but all he did there was cut trees for wood. All in all, it was rather frustrating he couldn't find out more. His men fruitlessly combed the forest on the hills. Since this morning he'd resorted to some of the less concpicuous men in his service. They were similar to the men he employed in Rome and the men he'd sent after Morcant and Cuhelyn. If they couldn't get any more information - well, Rufus would probably have to resort to violence. The images he'd seen in the water had kept his mind busy for the past days, too. If they were showing the future, it was clear he was going to die soon. And he really didn't care for that idea in the least. He'd have to see if there was anything to be done against it. He did believe in gods and in this Fair Folk of Essylt's too, now - it was just that he could not imagine them pinning down the fates of men without leaving a little room to play with. That's what he would do, anyway. Rufus was sure he could escape this fate. After all, he'd gotten himself out of other predicaments as well. The only question remained: how? If he did not kill Morcant, or left Essylt alone from now on, would it somehow alter the course of the future he had seen? There had to be a way he'd be able to figure out. He probably needed Essylt for it, and he wasn't sure she was willing to help him. |
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| Marieke | 31 May 2010, 14:09 Post #3364 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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It was a little more over three days now, and nothing had happened to Morcant. Despite Rufus’ suggestion, Essylt had not told him. Not a single thing. She just knew he would forfeit care and do something so stupid it’d get him and Cuhelyn both killed. Sometimes it was hard to pretend that nothing was wrong. Then, when he came home and she saw the accomplished, almost content expression on his face, she believed it was worth it. The weather had not improved either. She kept the fire blazing at all times now. |
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| Sonja | 31 May 2010, 14:14 Post #3365 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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It had started raining again. Rufus chafed at the delay, but because he absolutely loathed getting wet under any other circumstances than taking a bath, he waited until it let up again. Then he quickly made his way from his villa to the Dobunni quarter. He'd thought of something to hold over Essylt's head that would make her help him. Without wasting time, since the new rainclouds on the horizon made it pretty clear it wasn't going to stay dry forever, he walked up to the door of her house, and knocked on the door. |
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| Marieke | 31 May 2010, 14:16 Post #3366 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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Now what? It was probably silly to hope for Cuhelyn again. With a sudden tight feeling, she opened the door. Rufus looked down on her. ‘Ah.’ |
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| Sonja | 31 May 2010, 14:18 Post #3367 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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He held up his hands in a gesture of peace and smiled. 'I'd like to come in, please.' |
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| Marieke | 31 May 2010, 14:19 Post #3368 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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‘Like to?’ she asked, but stepped aside after a moment’s thought. She could guess why he was here. |
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| Sonja | 31 May 2010, 20:55 Post #3369 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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Rufus moved inside. The house hadn't really changed - obviously not. He sat down and looked at Essylt. 'How are you?' he asked her conversationally, as if a couple of days ago hadn't happened at all. |
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| Marieke | 31 May 2010, 21:00 Post #3370 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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She had to blink at him. Was he going into another lapse of chat, only to turn into intimidating blackmail later on? ‘I’m good,’ she said reluctantly. |
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| Sonja | 31 May 2010, 21:02 Post #3371 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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'Good. I won't beat around the bush, Essylt. The things you showed me made me think, and there are a couple of things I think I need your help with.' |
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| Marieke | 31 May 2010, 21:06 Post #3372 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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There were a couple of things she could say to him. For instance, that asking for her help was a bit of a joke after last time, or that she imagined that he didn’t wish to die, or that she had no way to prevent the things from happening anyway – that was, as far as she knew. Essylt took the stick out of the fire, remaining quiet. |
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| Sonja | 31 May 2010, 21:10 Post #3373 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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'I don't suppose you happen to know how to prevent or alter the course of events you have seen in the water?' Rufus pressed on, though her silence sounded rather put out. 'It's in your own advantage too, if you don't want Morcant to die.' |
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| Marieke | 31 May 2010, 21:13 Post #3374 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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‘Believe me, I don’t want anything of that to happen,’ she snapped, turning to look at him. ‘Of course I don’t want him to die; I don’t want anyone to die.’ |
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| Sonja | 31 May 2010, 21:17 Post #3375 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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'Well then, don't we have a common cause here? You don't want anyone to die, and frankly I don't care for any more deaths on these lands either.' Rufus tapped with his fingers on the table-top, looking at Essylt with a serious expression on his face. |
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| Marieke | 31 May 2010, 21:21 Post #3376 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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‘Except Morcant, if I do anything out of step that displeases you,’ she said. ‘I’m sorry, my lord. I’ve seen this too many times in my nightmares to like it. But even if there was some way to figure out what is real and what is symbol, or if there’s any way to stop it at all…I don’t know how to understand which course will make us turn to another path and which one will lead us straight to it. Or worse.’ |
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| Sonja | 31 May 2010, 21:29 Post #3377 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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Well, that was rather a problem, he thought. Rufus pressed his lips together. 'Do you only see these particular images, or others also? Ones with less..., ah, impact, so to say?' |
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| Marieke | 31 May 2010, 21:31 Post #3378 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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She regarded him for a moment. There seemed to be very little left of that smooth behaviour. ‘I’ve seen other things,’ she finally said. ‘They might happen before this, or after; maybe they’re the changed course. Maybe they’re all mixed together. As I told you a few days ago, I can’t make sense out of it.’ |
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| Sonja | 31 May 2010, 21:34 Post #3379 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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'So there are no small things that might happen tomorrow or so, on which you can experiment what will or won't change the course? Or is that a strange thought, perhaps...' He scratched his chin. |
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| Marieke | 31 May 2010, 21:35 Post #3380 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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‘Perhaps you should go back to your Rome?’ she asked softly. |
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| Sonja | 31 May 2010, 21:38 Post #3381 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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He laughed. 'No, I don't think so.' It'd be like admitting defeat, and Rufus had never done that. He thought he'd rather die, actually. |
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| Marieke | 31 May 2010, 21:40 Post #3382 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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‘Then, what do you hope I can do for you?’ She spread her arms inquiringly. |
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| Sonja | 31 May 2010, 21:45 Post #3383 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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'You are the - ah, shall we say expert on these matters. Can't your friend Udd Wyll help you in this?' |
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| Marieke | 31 May 2010, 21:48 Post #3384 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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‘He says my choices are my own, though I will make them for love.’ He didn't look like he would be moving soon, but he also looked genuinely unsettled. Essylt squatted on the blankets on the floor, taking up a needlework though she didn't move the thread. 'Even if he could, and I knew a way...you must realize that you've not made a good impression on me last time.' |
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| Sonja | 31 May 2010, 21:54 Post #3385 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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'I know,' he said and shrugged his shoulders. 'I'm counting on the impressions I've made before the last one.' |
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| Marieke | 31 May 2010, 21:58 Post #3386 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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She wasn’t sure what he was playing at. Was this his real face, or just another pretence to help himself? ‘I see. You’re afraid.’ |
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| Sonja | 31 May 2010, 22:09 Post #3387 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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'I'm not so stupid to pretend being invincible,' he said. 'I'm good at letting people think it, though.' Rufus smiled a crooked smile. 'Besides, isn't anyone afraid of death? Even the mightiest emperor or most pious priest cannot escape from it. But enough of philosophy. I assume I will have to find a way to solve this on my own, then.' |
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| Marieke | 31 May 2010, 22:12 Post #3388 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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‘Perhaps your problem is me,’ she suggested flatly. ‘I seem to be dangerous to people.’ |
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| Sonja | 31 May 2010, 22:17 Post #3389 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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Was that an opportunity to win back a little of her trust, and ensure her help that way? Rufus almost smiled. 'Ah now, there are greater dangers in this world than a girl who can turn things to ice with a touch.' And if a little flattery did not work, there was always intimidation to fall back to. |
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| Marieke | 31 May 2010, 22:21 Post #3390 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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She nodded and thought: like you. Or, indeed, the Fair Folk. She trusted Udd Wyll – wearily perhaps, but still – but she very well knew how others of his kind might be. Perhaps if he stayed away from her, the things she’d seen wouldn’t happen. But then Morcant ought to stay away from her too. Or she should flee and live in perfect solitude for the rest of her live. It would be beyond bearing. 'Perhaps, but as long as I draw death around me, how does it matter?' |
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