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| Vale of the White Horse | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: 5 Jan 2010, 13:03 (19,315 Views) | |
| Sonja | 15 May 2010, 19:11 Post #2671 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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'Heard two ladies talking on the market that our big friend was providing furniture to those in the settlement who needed it,' he said as he laid the new blanket in the corner, on the older ones. |
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| Marieke | 15 May 2010, 19:14 Post #2672 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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‘Yes, he told me,’ she muttered. ‘I thought he was just saying that to please me.’ She put a hand on the owl’s back. It didn’t warm or cold anything in between. |
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| Sonja | 15 May 2010, 19:20 Post #2673 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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'Never thought a man like him'd speak truths,' he said and shook his head. 'Either way, it leaves us with a little more money to spend so I got us some meat and cheese.' |
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| Marieke | 15 May 2010, 19:22 Post #2674 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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Suddenly, she was hungry. ‘That’s good. Did you…um, did you see Marcus Lentulus?’ |
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| Sonja | 15 May 2010, 19:24 Post #2675 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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Morcant started cutting the meat on a slab of wood he'd kept when making the bench outside. He shook his head. 'Nowhere to be seen,' he said tersely. Which was probably a good thing, since he didn't know whether he could control himself should he ever meet the man face to face. |
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| Marieke | 15 May 2010, 19:34 Post #2676 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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‘Hm.’ She watched as he worked on the food. He was so busy taking care of her, Essylt thought. Sometimes, like now, it made her uncomfortable. It had been easier when she was still just his hostage and he had an obligation. ‘I want to help you,’ she said. ‘All I’m doing is being a runaway.’ |
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| Sonja | 15 May 2010, 19:38 Post #2677 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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'But you're good at that,' he said in what was perhaps the most lame attempt to cheer someone up. 'Besides, you keep the house clean. Without you, the dust would have found a way to strangle me in my sleep. You could clean the carrots, if you really want something to do,' he added. Morcant didn't really think about it; he just started preparing food as soon as the sun was setting. It was second nature to him, after all his days alone in the wild. |
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| Marieke | 15 May 2010, 19:47 Post #2678 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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She got up, the owl flying to sit on a low, heavy rafter that supported the roof. Her hands moved per functionally to clean off the carrots. ‘I don’t just mean cooking. I can’t just sit around and dust off this place forever…I’m a chieftain’s daughter, not a servant woman.’ Essylt shut her mouth, glancing at Morcant. Of course, he was of common birth. ‘I-I’m sorry…’ |
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| Sonja | 15 May 2010, 19:52 Post #2679 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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He raised one of his eyebrows. She probably hadn't meant to be insulting, but he'd thought she was actually starting to develop some backbone. If nothing else, she should realize that her days as chieftain's daughter were over. 'You can still appeal for sanctuary at the caer,' he said then, his voice just this side of chilly. 'I will not stop you.' |
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| Marieke | 15 May 2010, 19:58 Post #2680 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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‘Ah.’ It had been the stupidest of remarks. Essylt stopped with the carrots, turning to him helplessly. ‘I didn’t mean it. It’s not that I look down on you. Not at all.’ |
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| Sonja | 15 May 2010, 20:01 Post #2681 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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'You must have meant it to some degree, or you wouldn't have said it,' he shrugged. 'But that's all right. Forget it.' As far as verbal abuse went, he'd had worse. |
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| Marieke | 15 May 2010, 20:05 Post #2682 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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‘Yes, but I – I didn’t mean you.' All she’d thought about was how she was trained to oversee a big household – that of her father now, her own within less than a year if all had gone according to plan. Though she wasn’t so sure that a Roman household functioned quite the same as their own. It didn’t matter any longer, in that Morcant was right. 'I don’t care about your birth; you’re my friend! You saved me, didn’t you?’ |
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| Sonja | 15 May 2010, 20:16 Post #2683 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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Wasn't that just the problem? Being her friend, but nothing else... Morcant didn't really like the thought, but her words had contained some truth: she was a chieftain's daughter and he was just a commoner. He licked his lips and pushed the cut meat to one side of the wooden plank. 'Yes, well, if you want to live here unnoticed, you'll have to get used to it,' he said then, not unkind. |
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| Marieke | 15 May 2010, 20:19 Post #2684 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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‘I’ll try,’ she told him, her eyes still on him. ‘For you.’ And for father. For Carwyn. I must. Now was probably not a good time to tell him about Udd Wyll, the man made from moonbeams. |
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| Sonja | 15 May 2010, 20:23 Post #2685 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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'Adapting will get easier in time. I didn't very much like being homeless at first, but now I have to get used to having a solid roof over my head again.' Actually, it was giving him the itches. He'd come to like the outdoor-life. Morcant smiled briefly at her, then returned to his cooking. |
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| Marieke | 15 May 2010, 20:25 Post #2686 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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Essylt hesitated, thinking she heard something behind the airy tone of his voice. It matched the somewhat forced expression on his face: his jaws set a little too tightly, his eyebrows were down just a bit more than usual, creating a dark crease. She stood on tiptoe, leaning on his arm to balance herself, then kissed him briefly on his cheek. ‘I’ll let you go one day, Morcant. I wouldn’t be so greedy to claim your life and your purposes.’ |
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| Sonja | 15 May 2010, 20:29 Post #2687 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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He gave a grunt and looked staunchly ahead of him. 'Right now, my life's purpose is getting information about the Romans. And where better to do that than right here in this settlement, eh? So this suits me just fine, really.' Try though he might, he couldn't make light of things. He'd have to get his priorities straight, and soon. |
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| Marieke | 17 May 2010, 11:44 Post #2688 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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‘Ah, right.’ Essylt pulled back and started to fold the new blanket, which he had thrown on a pile with the old one and her cloak. She thought about Morcant. Wouldn’t it be better to send him away now? Rufus had already found out that she was here, but she knew how to remain silent. It would certainly be safer for him; two of them in the same small settlement would lead to a confrontation sooner or later. This, she did not doubt at all. It seemed a black prospect. Essylt shivered. |
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| Sonja | 17 May 2010, 11:57 Post #2689 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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Three days was an acceptable time to figure out the identity of the dead man and convey his suspicions to Briallen en Tudwrig. Rufus was sick of sitting in his tent, anyway; it had been raining the entire morning and even though things had cleared up now, it was still damp and chilly. A cup of spiced mead in front of a crackling hearth seemed a very nice prospect. He was glad that his villa in the centre of the settlement would be inhabitable by tomorrow at the latest. He folded himself in his toga and stepped outside, picking up the edges of the fabric so as not to soil it when he stepped into the muddy field. He gave a few short orders to the soldiers standing guard outside, then made his way to the caer. |
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| Marieke | 17 May 2010, 12:04 Post #2690 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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‘And we need two cows from the next market day,’ Briallen finished her memorized list. Eiluned nodded briefly. ‘I sent a cart down to the other settlement. But they’re quite heavily burdened now that the Roman settlement around the caer takes it’s provisions from there as well.’ She smothered a mild curse. ‘How much do they contribute, all in all?’ ‘It seems to go up to more than half now, my lady.’ She thought Eiluned looked worried. Probably justly so. ‘It is too much,’ she agreed wearily. ‘The Romans must start to provide for themselves soon. I have half a mind of favoring the free tenants of Dobunni kin, but…’ Eiluned smiled thinly. ‘This winter will be a hard one, my lady. Crop and grain won’t grow on the lands in winter, even if the Romans wanted it.’ |
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| Sonja | 17 May 2010, 12:13 Post #2691 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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The caer was buzzing with activity. Rufus still wondered why a place this big only had so little inhabitants and servants. It had probably something to do with Tudwrig's illness. Perhaps the man couldn't stand too much bustle around him. Rufus held out a hand to stop a servantgirl. 'Will you tell the lady that I should like to have a word with her?' 'Of course, my lord,' she answered and scurried off quickly. Before Briallen could answer, they were interrupted by one of the maids, who announced that Marcus Lentulus had arrived and wished to speak to her. Eiluned pressed her lips to a thin line. She didn't know what to think of the man. He seemed eager to comply with all their needs - a little too eager, perhaps. |
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| Marieke | 17 May 2010, 12:27 Post #2692 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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‘Ah.’ Briallen let out a stretched sigh. ‘I had intended to supervise the cleaning of the chambers of the family quarter. I’ll take responsibility for lord Tudwrig’s myself.’ It was a bit presumptuous to speak of a family quarter, Briallen realized. Back home it had housed her parent’s chambers and her mother’s room now that she was ill, her own and occasionally the guests and closer kin; her cousins and uncle, especially. Since Gwenllian’s more or less permanent sanctuary, she had moved her to that part of the caer as well. ‘Very well. Bring him to the Garden Room, if you could.’ She knew that Gwenllian was working on the tapestries in the great hall and felt little for attracting attention to that work. The Garden Room was a much smaller chamber. She could tell from the furnishings that it was intended as an intimate place, probably a room where Tudwrig’s family used to gather in times that all was still well for the household. |
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| Sonja | 17 May 2010, 12:33 Post #2693 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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The girl came back and brought him to a small room with an outlook on a garden outside. Rufus wondered why Briallen wasn't receiving him in the great hall; this seemed far too intimate. Not that he minded, of course. He wondered if Tudwrig'd be well enough to attend the little meeting himself. After asking what he'd like to drink, the maid left. Rufus remained standing, waiting for Briallen to arrive. |
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| Marieke | 17 May 2010, 12:36 Post #2694 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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She entered the room, leaving the door on a small crack. ‘Good afternoon, I hope you’re well.’ He looked well enough. Briallen didn’t think that this man could manage to appear out of his depth, even if he tried. ‘You wished to see me?’ |
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| Sonja | 17 May 2010, 12:39 Post #2695 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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'I'm perfectly all right, and I do hope I'm not interrupting you in your duties,' he said and sat down on one of the chairs. 'Is lord Tudwrig still feeling under the weather?' |
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| Marieke | 17 May 2010, 12:40 Post #2696 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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‘He is a little on edge,’ she answered, remaining on her feet, though she walked to the window to look over at the dripping garden. ‘Can I help you?’ |
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| Sonja | 17 May 2010, 12:45 Post #2697 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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Apparently, she was not in the mood for small talk. 'Yes, as a matter of fact, you can.' Rufus paused for a moment. In dramatics, timing was everything. 'I have some clues considering the identity of the mysterious victim found on the hills. It is no one of my camp, but it's a man of enough importance to cause you, if not an inconvenience, a lot of trouble.' He kept his voice carefully free of implied threats; there'd be time for that later if she didn't pick up the hints he was about to give her. |
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| Marieke | 17 May 2010, 12:58 Post #2698 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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Briallen was shocked. She couldn’t keep her shoulders from moving up with a jerk, but pushed them down at once. ‘Really?’ she asked, hearing how her voice betrayed a hint of freight; but that could just as well be explained to genuine worry. She turned around to face him, but not before she had the feeling she could control the expression on her face. ‘Your words disturb me. Please speak outright.’ |
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| Sonja | 17 May 2010, 13:05 Post #2699 |
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Red & dangerous! Rawr!
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'I'm fairly certain the man is - or was, rather - the chieftain of Cavern Hill. Before my station here, I have spent some months there and I've been in close contact with the chieftaincy ever since. A couple of months ago his wife ran away, and three weeks ago the man himself has left his caer.' Rufus pursed his lips. 'You have mentioned lady Gwenllian to be a guest, and a chieftain's wife, yet you haven't told me why she's been staying here for such an extended period of time, or where she originally came from.' |
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| Marieke | 17 May 2010, 13:10 Post #2700 |
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Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
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It was hard to keep her face straight now. She struggled for control, but was certain that he must see something of her discomfort. ‘I haven’t told you because I thought it was irrelevant. Are you accusing her of murder on her husband?’ What to say? Refuse to answer his question about Gwenllian’s origin and she’d only make the girl more suspect. Admit that she was from Cavern Hill and it would give him a great motive to call her guilty. Briallen licked her lips. ‘That would be a very grave accusation.’ |
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