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| Vale of the White Horse | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: 5 Jan 2010, 13:03 (19,384 Views) | |
| Marieke | 21 Feb 2010, 20:11 Post #601 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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'Fear and respect it, as all people should.' She glanced past him to the point he had meant. 'Looking at it will not hurt, surely?' She took his hand. It was an impulse. His fingers felt rather stiff and cold. 'Come; there must be a nice view from up the mound. How are you feeling?' |
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| Sonja | 21 Feb 2010, 20:17 Post #602 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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Tudwrig shrugged a little. 'As well as can be expected.' He was glad she'd taken his hand, it was some small comfort to him. Together they walked upwards to the Blowing Stone. As they got higher, he started feeling a little queer, for which he blamed the exertion. 'I used to come here with my father when I was a boy,' he said after looking down at the Vale over his shoulder. |
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| Marieke | 21 Feb 2010, 20:21 Post #603 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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'Hmm.' She had to pull up her dress with her free hand now, for the slope was draped with puddles as they climbed up, like a dozen tiny lakes. A splash of purple heather grew up from the briar. It was the last trace of summer before autumn would sweep all of the growth away and drench the landscape for winter. 'Was he a burdened man as you are now?' |
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| Sonja | 21 Feb 2010, 20:25 Post #604 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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'You mean cursed,' he said with a tight smile. 'No, he wasn't. He was perfectly normal - aside from dying young.' He looked around. Wayland's Smithy was a little to the east of here. The last time he'd been to the cairn was just before the curse first appeared and he wondered if it had changed much. He guessed not. Old stones had the habit of staying the same for years and years. Before he realized what he was doing, he had taken a few steps towards the east. |
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| Marieke | 21 Feb 2010, 20:33 Post #605 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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'I know he was not cursed as you are,' she replied, as he tugged her to something she couldn't see. 'But you told be that the settlement disappeared in the time of your grandfather. Surely your father worried about his people...Where are you going?' |
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| Sonja | 21 Feb 2010, 20:34 Post #606 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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'Ah, he never..really told me about that,' Tudwrig said distractedly. 'I want to show you Wayland's Smithy. I haven't been there in years, but it's tranquil there.' |
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| Marieke | 21 Feb 2010, 20:43 Post #607 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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She blinked. Had his father never even begun to teach him to be a chieftain for the Vale? She couldn't ask him now, for he was pulling her down the hill, across a field that softly turned into a grove of elm trees. A little way within the shade, a stone cairn rose up from the mosses as if it was part of the earth itself. Perhaps, after so long a time, it was. 'A sacred place,' she breathed, halting in her tracks. She had seen them before, of course, passed them. Why their ancestors had build them was something only storytellers could tell them now, for they were the only ones that guarded the memory of her people through tale and songs. But here, she felt something tinge on her skin. The place was peaceful, beautiful....and yet, all the hairs on her arms stood suddenly on end. |
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| Sonja | 21 Feb 2010, 20:50 Post #608 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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The air was different here. It was very still, as if this was suddenly the only place in the world - or the only place that mattered, anyway. He looked over his shoulder at Briallen, who'd stopped walking. 'Yes, sacred,' he said. Tudwrig couldn't put his finger to it, but he suddenly realized it was very important that he'd go into the cairn. |
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| Marieke | 21 Feb 2010, 20:58 Post #609 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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She let go of his hand and rubbed her chilled arms. 'I don't know of druidic matters,' she muttered, casting glances about. 'It seems to me that the veil has parted here, Tudwrig. We might not be welcome at all.' |
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| Sonja | 21 Feb 2010, 21:00 Post #610 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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What was she talking about? He felt very welcome. In fact, he felt as though it'd make matter far worse if he didn't go there - betray their hospitality, so to say. 'It's fine,' he said to comfort her, 'I've been here before.' If she didn't want to come, he'd just go alone. |
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| Marieke | 21 Feb 2010, 21:03 Post #611 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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'Sometimes the Good Folk are here, sometimes the Otherworld is far removed from ours,' she told him nervously. 'That much, I know. You must at least bring an offer, placate them, Tudwrig. Don't you know what happens to people that dwell in the Otherworld for even a short while? Sometimes they return and find the world they once knew has turned to ashes and dust!' |
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| Sonja | 21 Feb 2010, 21:07 Post #612 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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'It didn't happen last time,' he said, though he wasn't entirely sure he could even remember much of last time. It didn't matter anyway. He simply had to go into the cairn, that much he knew. Tudwrig was almost certain he'd find a cure to the curse here. |
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| Marieke | 21 Feb 2010, 21:10 Post #613 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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'That's what I'm trying to tell you; sometimes the sacred places are not a direct gateway, but now...' She shivered again and reached out for his arm. 'Tudwrig. Please, don't go in there.' The opening of the cairn yawned at her like a dark, hollow mouth. She thought she could hear sounds, see a flicker of movement...or was that just her own paranoia? |
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| Sonja | 21 Feb 2010, 21:14 Post #614 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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'You don't understand, I have to,' he murmured, standing still and watching the dark entrance, feeling like a moth attracted to a candleflame. Why didn't she understand? She was acting like it was something bad to do, but he couldn't see any harm in going in there. Even if he got trapped, it could never be a more miserable existence than he had right now. |
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| Marieke | 21 Feb 2010, 21:24 Post #615 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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She couldn't quite explain what worried her so about this cairn, this sacred place. Somehow it felt wrong to let him go down there. It was an uncanny but profound feeling deep within her belly that told her not to let him go. Briallen gripped his hand more tightly. 'Tudwrig, let's go now. Please.' She tugged at him. 'We can come back later, if you want. I...I don't feel so well.' It was hardly a lie, was it? She was shivering, her muscles a tight knot. |
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| Sonja | 21 Feb 2010, 21:27 Post #616 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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Despite the luring quality of the air around the cairn, he turned around to search Briallen's face. 'You're not feeling well? What's the matter,' he asked a little worriedly and took a step back towards her. |
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| Marieke | 21 Feb 2010, 21:28 Post #617 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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'Just...just this feeling. A little weak in the knees.' Now that she had his attention, she was eager to keep it. Even if she had to lie a little. 'The moon's tiding, you understand...I'm sorry, I should have said this beforehand.' |
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| Sonja | 21 Feb 2010, 21:33 Post #618 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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'No... no, it's okay. We'll go back,' he said and took her hands in his. Briallen's well-being was more important to him. The cairn would be here tomorrow, or the day after, or even next week. 'Can you manage to the horses?' Tudwrig took another steps away from the opening, gently taking her with him. |
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| Marieke | 21 Feb 2010, 21:36 Post #619 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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She felt a little guilty as they made their way back to the horses and assured him that she still could ride. As they removed themselves from the cairn, she felt her skin ease again, and the knot in her belly loosened. |
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| Sonja | 23 Feb 2010, 19:20 Post #620 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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He helped Briallen on her horse and mounted his own. They rode down the hill, past Blowing Stone and the figure of the Horse. The quality of the air changed again, making it easier for him to breathe. But it weighed heavily on him. What if his curse could only be cured on this day, and he'd turned his back on it? Tudwrig daren't think of that, so he pushed his mind away from the thought an onto other matters at hand. 'Marcus Iulius certainly doesn't waste anytime,' he said as he pointed to the horizon, where a large number of soldier had appeared, pulling wagons with building materials. |
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| Marieke | 23 Feb 2010, 19:24 Post #621 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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She paled somewhat, following his directions. 'Caer March is not yet equipped to host such a number of...people.' She pressed her lips together. 'It's well that we returned so early, then. I'll need Eiluned to help me arrange their lodges.' She did not feel like inviting more Romans into her new home, especially not soldiers who came to invade Tudwrig's territory. The laws of hospitality were very strics however. Still, she wondered quietly if such sacred laws applied to heathens such as the Romans were. |
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| Sonja | 23 Feb 2010, 19:28 Post #622 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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'They can make their camp in the Vale,' Tudwrig said. 'Only the officers will be granted our hospitality.' He thought Marcus Iulius had that coming to him. He sure as hell wasn't going to let heathen soldiers invade his household. |
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| Marieke | 23 Feb 2010, 19:33 Post #623 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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'Will he grace us with another visit?' she wondered as she and Tudwrig rose up the hardened road into the courtyard of the fort. 'I'm not looking forward to entertaining the man, but I will if he decides to stay with us overnight.' She dismounted with a thud and brushed a hand through the manes of her mare before glancing over her shoulder at her husband. 'I'm trained perfectly well in these matters, such as they come,' she promised him with a tight smile. 'Shadow's Well was much less isolated from settlements and trading routes. And my father knew Romans. He - well, I guess he tolerated them for their wealth.' |
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| Sonja | 23 Feb 2010, 19:38 Post #624 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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'I suspect he will, though 'grace' is hardly the proper word,' he said with a faint chuckle. Tudwrig felt a little nauseous and attributed it to his worrying over the cairn. As the stableboys came towards them to take care of the horses, he offered Briallen his arm. 'I'm glad you at least know how to deal with a stuck-up Roman pig.' |
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| Marieke | 23 Feb 2010, 19:42 Post #625 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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Her mouth twitched. 'I am still only a woman. I can't tell him what to do, even in my own household. Unless he is extremely civil and would respect our own customs. I doubt it.' On his arm, they walked back inside. 'Well, never mind. I will prepare myself now, perhaps they will be here soon. It would....make a good impression if you are still present, then.' |
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| Sonja | 23 Feb 2010, 19:45 Post #626 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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'But you're my wife, so if they don't want to get thrown out they'd better treat you with all respect,' Tuwdrig asserted. He gave some orders to the servants, then led her into the main hall. 'I feel fine after all that fresh air, it should be fine.' |
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| Marieke | 23 Feb 2010, 19:50 Post #627 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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Briallen's smile slipped from the corner of her mouth at his words. It was true, she was a chieftain's wife now and she liked that he appreciated her as such. Still, fine tendrils of doubt had been winding around her heart all the past few days. Was she really his wife? They had not yet shared a bed yet - not fully at least. A marriage probably meant very little without the consumation of it. And could she truly commit herself to this life, knowing what he was and how often he was not this gentle, shy man that tried everything to please her? 'Then let's have something to eat while we wait.' |
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| Sonja | 23 Feb 2010, 19:54 Post #628 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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He nodded and send for food, then pulled Briallen's chair back for her to sit down on. Her face showed some doubt, but he wasn't sure if that was because of the impending visit of the Roman officer, or because she still wasn't sure about their marriage. It made him feel uneasy. 'I'm sorry for all this,' he said with a gesture at nothing in particular. 'I would help it if I could, but...' |
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| Marieke | 23 Feb 2010, 19:57 Post #629 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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'My father raised no coward,' she replied, raising her chin. 'And the Gods know that my mother stood by him through many difficult times.' But as she made herself smile at him, the thought that he, though a difficult man, at least had been completely human seeped through her optimistic thoughts like poison. |
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| Sonja | 23 Feb 2010, 20:01 Post #630 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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The food was served not long after, but he wasn't very hungry. He forced himself to fill his plate, though. 'I know you're no coward,' said he quietly, but fell silent then. There were a lot of things Tudwrig wanted to tell her, but he felt as though every word out of his mouth could make her come back on her decision to stay, and he didn't want that to happen. |
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