"Braedan!" The priest shouts at his friend. This doesn't have to get violent if we keep calm.
The King rushes across the hut, and throws himself at Braedan who, while not entirely surprised, is still sitting.
He strikes him hard, with all his might. Were it not for Brother Ó Máille's blessing, the blow could very well have knocked him out or even killed him. Braedan staggers...
"Damned it be..." Aoife muttered to herself as she jumped from her seat and grabbed Braedan.
"I am truly sorry King Lir but I cannot allow you to kill him. Even for his insult, which I agree was greatly out of line. I humbly ask that you take the blow you've already struck as penance for the insult. I respect you and the fact that this is your home. You are a masterful warrior and I would hate to be your enemy. But I will if I must. I beg of you, please don't let that come to pass." She spoke, her feet rooted her to the place Braedan had once been. She stood tall and proud, in a defensive fighting stance indicating she knew something of marshal power. She kept her eyes locked with Lir, doing her best to keep his attention on her and not Braedan.
Padraic lurches to his feet and charges at one of the warriors, attempting to drive him back and in to the wall of the hut with all of his might.
Padraic rushes forth, and drives the warrior back into the wall...
The warrior punches Padraic hard, and is joined by a commoner who attempts to grab Padraic, to pull him away. But Padraic is too quick and strong.
"Out of the way woman," the second warrior barks as he attacks Aoife, who stands in the way of his king. He punches her hard in the gut, while one of the commoners grabs her.
"Stay out of this," one of the commoners says as he and another stand in Brother O'Maille's way, trying in vain to hold him at bay.
The two remaining commoners jump on Fintan, to hold him down. Fintan is stronger, but one of them nevertheless succeeds in grabbing the giant of a man.
Braedan, who is jealous, furious, drunk and fearless, stands up and faces the king. But he is clearly outmatched, and the king easily avoids his blow.
As the two men throw themselves at him, Fintan's face grows red with hot rage, and he grabs the arm of the man that's got a better hold of him. With hot air blowing out his nose, he tries to break that fellow's arm in a twist.
The priest dodges past a few angry dinner guests as he shuffles toward Braedan. Reaching out a hand, he shouts, internally praying for this madness to end.
Fintan downs the poor man who foolishly tried to stop him from coming to his brother's aid.
Brother O'Maille calls upon the Holy Spirit to keep Braedan safe. When the King attempts to strike the bard down, he finds his resolve faltering. He has seen the light of God.
Amergin, the old druid, is both awed and surprised. "That's enough" he decides. He plays a soothing song, and calls upon everyone to calm down, and retire for the night. Oddly, everyone agrees without a word, including the king.
When only you remain, he turns to Brother O'Maille: "I have never seen such power. Who is this God spirit you speak of?"
Aoife watched as everyone moved out of the room before she walked over to Braedan. "What was going through you head?!" She snapped at him. "You're suppose to be the smart one here, and you go and insult the man who has taken us into his home?! We're here to save these people and you're making that even more difficult." She scolded him as quietly as she could, however it could still be easily over heard. "You also need to thank Amergin and Brother O'Maille! Because if it wasn't for them you'd be dead with us to follow!" She informed him.
With that she turned to Amergin and Brother O'Maille. "Thank you for calming everyone down... you did far better then I, and thank you Brother O'Maille for keeping Braedan safe." She said with a small bow and a smile.
Padraic laughs softly, walking over to pat Fintan on the shoulder. "Fintan would have handled the rest of them I'm sure. Bloody good hit friend!"
Ó Máille turns to Aoife as he breathes a sigh of relief. "The Lord provides for His children."
Responding to Amergin, a smile lights up his face. "God is the father of all creation, good beyond all comprehension and the only god worthy of praise. He came as a man to die, paying the price for all our sins and rose from the dead." Once having detailed the basics of his faith, the priest tries to read the man's face. Should he seem more curious, Ó Máille will talk extensively about theology.
Amergin is veritably intrigued by Brother Ó Máille's words, and clearly he wants nothing more than to learn more about this God. Still, he turns to Braedan, to deal with a more pressing matter: "I understand that you frown upon the king's treatment of his wife. And I understand that your smitten. But by right, he could have cast you out of his home, and then killed you."
"I will apologize in the morning," Braedan concedes.
"Again, I do not know why you have come here. And I should not know. But whatever you came here to do, you should endeavour to do it soon," the druid urges the heroes.
"Can you give us a moment?" Braedan asks.
"Of course," Amergin says as he steps out of the hut.
When the druid has gone, Braedan turns to his friends and family: "I know that she told us to kill her. But we can't. She's done nothing wrong. She is the victim here."
"Do you have a better idea?" Aoife asked as she crossed her arms. "And mind you our options are limited thanks to what you just did." She reminded him as she sighed. "The only thing I could even begin to suggest is to waist till she changes them and then have the brother bless them and turn them back. Because then she has done something wrong and what happens to her is no longer our problem. The children would no longer be swans and thus, no Banshee!"
"What if we take her away from here? If she never casts the curse, then she will never be cursed!" Braedan proposes.
"You are a fool if you think Lir is going to let any of use near her after what you just did! No, you've taken that option off the table. Honestly I think he'll have us killed in our sleep. Speaking of which, you aren't think right Braedan. Maybe we should speak of this in the morning after the ale gets done with you." Aoife suggested.
"Perhaps we should sleep on it," Braedan agrees. But there is a fire in his eyes that you doubt will soon extinguish...
"Mayhaps we should yes." Aoife said. "Alright now, get to bed... We've got a long road before us." She stated before she moved over to softly grab Padraic's and whispered.
With that she let him got and stepped out of the hut and looked around for Amergin.
Padraic stands slowly and stretched, cracking his neck before frowning at the door. "I'm going to go for a walk to clear my head. It is too hot in here!" Padraic slips out in to the night slowly.
"This situation is even more difficult now than it was when we started. Were we to kill her? I assumed freeing her children would resolve our quest. Though, I'm not sure how one would go about doing that. Perhaps our new druid friend knows something of these ancient magics."
Padraic steps out into the night, and has a look at the ring fort. The simple stone structure is home to the king's house and half a dozen warriors, two of which are on guard. The villagers reside outside the fort.
He sees no weapons, but there are a few iron tools, which could be handy.
Padraic stays to the shadows. He looks for tracks, but finds none.
"Who goes there?" one of the guards shouts, having spotted the ranger moving in the darkness.
With that she let him got and stepped out of the hut and looked around for Amergin.
Aoife finds Amergin atop the ring fort wall, staring at the lake beyond, deep in thought.
"Your friend Braedan is in love," Amergin states plainly. "Love is a beautiful thing, but it defies reason. We should leave in the morning. The wind has whispered that nothing good will come of staying."
"This situation is even more difficult now than it was when we started. Were we to kill her? I assumed freeing her children would resolve our quest. Though, I'm not sure how one would go about doing that. Perhaps our new druid friend knows something of these ancient magics."
"Killing her is not an option, Brother O'Maille. You of all people must realize that she is not the monster that we encountered in the cave!" Braedan exclaims.
"Please. You must help me save her," he pleads his brother and the priest.
"I know." Aoife said with a long sigh as she came to stand next to the druid. "But... And I know you don't want to know too much about why we're here, but leaving may be, difficult. The reason we're in this time is here." She stated with a shrug. "I came to ask you about something, about the magic you wield, if you'll have it."
"I'm just out for a piss. Trying to find somewhere secluded to take my ease brother. I got a bit turned around. Point me in the right direction?"
"I'm just out for a piss. Trying to find somewhere secluded to take my ease brother. I got a bit turned around. Point me in the right direction?"
Padraic mumbles without conviction. The warrior can plainly see that Padraic is up to something. He calls his kinsmen to his side to be safe.
"Why are you hiding? Come over here," the warrior commands loudly.
"He must be a spy!" the second warrior concludes.
"I came to ask you about something, about the magic you wield, if you'll have it."
"The secrets of the Druids are for the Druids alone," Amergin answers, "But I may be able to answer your questions nonetheless."
Their conversation is interrupted by a disturbance in the fort: the guards seem to have discovered a spy! Looking down, Aoife and Amergin see two warriors with spears pointed at Padraic, who is stepping out of the shadows.
"Please. You must help me save her," Braedan pleads his brother and the priest.
In the hut, Fintan, Braedan and Brother O'Maille hear the guards shouting outside.
For the love of! I can't turn my back on them can I?! One thing, I asked him to do one thing...
"He's not a spy." Aoife called down to the guards. "He came here with us, we're guests of King Lir for the time." Aoife explained as she gestured to Amergin and herself. "Likely had too much at dinner tonight, just point him back towards the hut and he'll find his way." She said with a simple shrug.
She looked to Amergin, both an apology and a plea for help here on her face. "Can't leave them alone it seems..." She muttered with a nervous sigh.
Aoife speaks the truth with conviction, but the hostile warriors do not lower their spears just yet. They keep a wary eye on Padraic.
"He was sneaking around!" the first warrior affirms.
"Go back inside," the other warrior barks at Aoife.
Awakened by the disturbance, two more warriors emerge from their huts, spear in hand. Then, the king rushes out, roaring: "what is going on?"
"Because it's the middle of the night." Aoife stated. "What would you have him walk as? Stomping around and waking everyone up?"
When the King comes out Aoife groans. "Padraic's drunk and got out of the hut. Probably trying to find where to take a piss without waking everyone up like your guards did. I understand they are doing their task and they did it well, but I'm sorry they woke you King Lir. I'll get Padraic back with out trouble and make sure he stays that way if you'll allow me to my King." She said as respetfully as possible, though there was weariness in her voice.
The priest follows Aoife and begins slowly chanting psalms under his breath, seeking the Lord's guidance.
"The girl speaks the truth" Amergin intervenes, standing by Aoife. His words seem to help sway the King of Lir and his warriors.
Hearing Aoife speak in defence of Padraic outside, Brother O'Maille steps out of the hut. Watching Aoife from afar, he prays for her.
By the grace of God, and with Amergin at her side, Aoife succeeds in reassuring the hostile locals. The warriors lower their spears.
"The full moon is playing tricks on us all," Amergin speaks, and as usual everyone listens. "Let me play a song of old, to calm the spirits."
Amergin sings an ancient song of love and hope. His beautiful voice is mesmerizing, and even the king is enthralled. For a moment, the night is perfect, and all the violence of the past is forgotten.
"I am sorry, my brother," says Braedan before incanting old magic.
Fintan falls asleep. Taking advantage of the distraction outside, unbeknownst to all, Braedan disappears into the night.
Aoife smiled as she listened to the song though she made her way over to Padraic. "Come on Padraic, lets get inside." She tells him with a small smile. She nodded to Amergin in thanks, then to King Lir respectfully. "Thank you for everything King Lir." She waves for Brother Ó Máille to follow as well, in hopes of getting everyone back together.
Maybe things won't end so bad...
Aoife saw Fintan snoring soundly... but no Braedan. Her heart fell and a bad feeling settled into her stomach. "No..." She muttered. "Brother, watch after Padraic... I'm going to see if I can find Braedan." She told him before she quickly went back outside looking around fanatically.
Please...please dear God... you didn't hear me when mother was dying... Hear me now.
Aoife rushes out, and has a look around. From afar, Amergin notices her despair, and he is quick to understand that something is amiss. He continues his song, and thus keeps the King of Lir and his warriors enthralled. This allows Aoife more time. But try as she might, she cannot find Braedan.
By this time, every man and woman and child residing in the fort has come to listen to Amergin's masterful performance.
Then Aoife realizes that the situation is more dire still than she thought: the Queen isn't there!
Amergin also sees that the queen is missing. From afar, he whispers in Aoife's ear: Go! Run! Find them!"
Aoife's heart jumped into her throat before she bolted. Quickly she did her best to try and find Braedan's tracks.
Please please please....
However should the fail she goes to where she'd believe the Queen would be and begins from there.
Peeking out from the hut to listen to Amergin's performance, Padraic, Brother O'Maille and Fintan – who has awakened confused from his mystical slumber – see Aoife in distress.
Amergin whispers to them all: "They've gone. Go!"
Ó Máille nods and rushes to Aoife's side. "Where's Braedan?" He asks her, concerned.
Aoife gave him a worried look as she answered. "I don't know... He's just gone... and I fear he has taken the Queen with him." She kept her voice down so that passers by couldn't hear her.
Fintan and Padraic join Aoife and Brother O'Maille as Amergin's song is nearing the end.
"We should go before they find out what has happened," Padraic suggests, eager to leave the ring fort and find refuge in the wilds. He reassures Fintan: "Braedan can't have gone far. We'll find him."
Fintan nods, eager to find his brother. He is hurt that Braedan didn't trust him. But in his heart, he understands. Oddly, now that Braedan has gone, Fintan turns to the young priest for guidance, expecting his wisdom to lead the way.
Aoife turned and looked at Ó Máille as well. "Padraic and I can likely track him down, will you please talk him down when we get there?" She asked him.
Far from home and out of time, the heroes of Largay run out of the ring fort atop the hill, and head down into the forest near the lake.
Padraic finds evidence that Braedan is going North West, likely towards home. Braedan and Queen Aoife cannot have gotten very far. They run as fast as they can, first to catch up, and second in order to be as far as possible from the King when he discovers that his wife is missing.
Padraic stops. They hush. They can't see anything in the moonlit darkness, but they can hear two people making they way through the woods, ahead.
"Braedan!" Fintan shouts, unwisely. The footsteps ahead stop.
"Wait!" he continues, and then he charges ahead. The others follow, and they come upon Braedan, with Queen Aoife at his side.
"She cannot die," he pleads.
"Who said anything about dying?" the Queen steps back, suddenly distrustful and a bit afraid. She realizes that she has been enchanted, and turns on Braeden: "Why have you stolen me away from my one true love under pretense of friendship?"
"Braedan, I understand you are emotional right now, but you need to trust us. My Queen, I promise you we have no intention to cause you any harm. We were sent to help you. Someone is concerned for the safety of you and your children. We will do whatever it takes to ensure your safety."
"Braedan, so help me God, if you do not stop you foolishness I will drag you around by your ear as if you where still a boy!" Aoife threatened before she pushed him out of the way to put herself between him and the Queen. "Padraic, Fintan, please keep him from doing something foolish... At least no more than he's already done."
With that she turned her full attention to Queen Aoife. "Look, we're here because of something you will do unless we stop you from doing it. Now listen, I'm going to walk you back," she looked back to Braedan and added. "without any of them." then returned her attention to Aoife. "I promise I will not hurt you but I would like to speak with you as we walk. Will you allow that my Queen?"
"Mind your tongue and know your place, slave," Braedan warns Aoife. He is furious in part because her speaking thus is out of place, but mostly because he is embarrassed to be belittled in front of the Queen.
"My husband will kill you all," Queen Aoife hisses, taking a step back and away from them. "Something I will do? Who sent you? Who are you, really? If your intent was to kill me, you would have done it already? Am I to be a hostage?"
Aoife glared at him, her eyes like arrows from a bow.
She turned back to Queen Aoife and shook her head. "Listen to me, you are not a hostage or anything, we come from a time far from now. You yourself sent us back, or at least a piece of you. Begging us to stop you from doing the worst mistake of your life. I do not wish to frighten you, please. Listen to what I have to say?" She asked.
Braedan cowers. Ultimately, he knows that he was wrong to steal away the Queen. But in his heart, he had no choice. He turns to his brother, Fintan: "I am sorry."
"What do you know of my life? What sort of evil spirits are you?" the Queen takes another step back, and makes a run for it, screaming:
In the distance, you hear horns. Undoubtedly, the King of Lir has found out that the Queen is gone.
"I know that you love the King will all your heart yet he constantly casts you aside. All his real attention goes to the children and the most you get comes late at night at the most." She stated as if it was a fact. "That those children torment you and he doesn't do a thing to stop it. He actually seems to encourage it." Aoife grabbed the Queen's wrist. "Tell me Aoife, what happened to your sister?" She asked as her grip tightened to keep her from running away. "Why would her own children, your niece and nephews, hate you so?" She quickly added. "Why would your husband spurn you? Not want you any where near them and keep you from public sight?"
Aoife catches the Queen before she can escape, and tries to reason with her. The Queen struggles, but Aoife is stronger. Finally, she settles somewhat, and listens.
"The King's children are to blame," the Queen whispers to herself, realizing some twisted form of the truth. Then, she pleads with her captors: "Please, let me go. I'll will convince the King to halt his pursuit. Please."
Suddenly, a preternatural wind rises, carrying with it an ancient song. Crickets sing in the night. The Queen falls into a deep slumber, and Amergin appears out of nowhere just in time to catch her.
"Quickly. We have to go. The King is moving fast," the old druid urges them on. He looks to Fintan to carry the sleeping Queen, and to Padraic to lead the way. Before they go, he prays in the ancient language of the druids.
Your step is as light as a feather as you pass without trace through the woods.
They run through the night. When morning comes and they are certain that the warriors of Lir are far behind, only then do they stop to rest.
Fintan lays the Queen on a bed of moss. When Breaden moves to her side, Amergin smiles patiently. The Queen awakens slowly, of her own accord. She appears very confused.
"You saved me," she tells Braedan, sincerely thankful.
"Honestly, he saved you." Aoife said as she pointed to Amergin.
She moved over to the Queen and pushed Braedan aside. She took a seat next to her as she said "You need to be honest with me right now. What happened to your sister? Why did you say the children are to blame?" Aoife crossed her arms but kept her eyes on the Queen, just waiting for her to bolt away.