Enya
Apprentice Scribe
Posts: 109
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Post by Enya on Jun 9, 2012 19:18:09 GMT -5
Enya looked back and brought stormy to a trot, so that Heather could catch up. The girl smiled " I'm glad you where able to escape. I was worried , i hated having to leave you behind" She said once she was close enough to here.
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Post by Brandwyn on Jun 9, 2012 21:05:45 GMT -5
Heather tossed Enya her pack and then handed over her weapons. “I am glad you did though because if I hadn’t made it at least you would have gotten away and could go get some help.” Heather smiled wearily and shivered. “Let’s take a moment to get out of these wet clothes and into something dryer. The packs should have kept out most of the water since the packs never actually went under the water anyway.”
She dismounted and rummaged through her pack looking for a change of clothes. She had found her jerkin on the deck next to Enya’s pack, but it was now soaking wet from her dunking in the river and her shirt under it was tattered from the whipping. Soon she was in dry clothes and had managed to somewhat organize her pack. She was surprised to find that she had scooped up some of the pirate’s loot in the dark; she had a large pouch full of coins. “Heh! Looks like we will be able to buy saddles and food afterall, though I think we should just keep moving until we get to Castle Heatherwood and under the protection of the Baron there. I figure if we make a bee-line for it and keep a rather brisk steady pace we will get there by tomorrow night.”
It was lucky for them that the barge had carried them much closer to her home than Brockton Foorde and they had at least gotten a bit of rest during that time, for the next 24 hours were going to be grueling.
“You ready? We better get moving again. They will be after us all too soon and probably know where we are going so we may run into an ambush at some point.” Heather warned Enya. “Let’s keep on at a brisk trot, just like we did the other night.”
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Enya
Apprentice Scribe
Posts: 109
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Post by Enya on Jun 9, 2012 22:52:41 GMT -5
Enya had changed into some dry cloths, and now had her hair up to keep it out of her face. The girl was back on stormys back " Wow, lucky you got that money" She said " and yes, im ready to go. im Ready to get somewhere safe " She said with a little laugh, and a small yawn.
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Post by Brandwyn on Jun 10, 2012 14:59:34 GMT -5
“Don’t get sleepy on me yet, young lady!” Heather grinned at her as they set off toward Heatherwood Downs. “We’ve got a long fast road ahead.”
She set up the road eating trot, alternating between brief stints of a slow canter and longer stints of a walk so the horses could catch their breath. The ride was more difficult without the saddles and they had no food. The only water they got was when they crossed a stream or small river.
Heather avoided the settlements and the roads. At one point they rode down into a valley and the village there had a huge burial mound at one end. There were a few people, many of whom looked to be ill, that were tending the burial fire. They waved her off with a dismal look of despair and Heather led Enya in a wide berth around the decimated village.
“Looks like the plague has gotten this far south at least,” Heather said sadly, watching the scene as they went around it. “I sure hope it hasn’t hit us at home yet.” She said worriedly. “What if my family has it?” She hadn’t really thought about that yet and the thought scared her, urging her to hurry and she increased their pace, cantering away from the village.
Apparently they had managed to outdistance the pirates or avoid them by sticking to the back country and staying off the roads for they finally topped a sparsely treed hillock and Heather could see the spires of the castle off in the distance. They had ridden all the night and all through the day, only occasionally getting off and walking alongside the horses to give them a rest. Another half hour and they would be at the castle.
“There it is Enya, look there ahead on that yonder hill. See the flags of the castle? We will be there shortly after dark.”
Heather pushed on as the sun set behind them and then even longer, her goal in sight, until they finally rode up to the castle gate.
“Hello in the castle. Open up for the King’s Ranger!” Heather called out and banged the hilt of her saxe knife on the wooden gate. They were approaching from the backside of the castle and trying to enter through a smaller postern gate rather than the main one on the opposite side which looked out over the distant sea.
“You will have to wait until morning!” A voice rang out. “We are to let no plague victims in here!”
“Arlington, is that you?” Heather thought she recognized the voice. “It’s me, Heather. Come on and open up, Man, we got pirates on our tail and urgent business with the Baron.”
A man stuck his head over the ramparts above them, “Heather? Ranger Heather, is that really you? You look terrible, are you sure you don’t have the plague?”
“Of course I don’t.” Heather was loosing her patience fast. “What I do have is a crossbow bolt in my shoulder and a very tired apprentice. Now open up right now!”
She heard a cranking and clanking sound from behind the wall and the gate and portcullis was raised. “Sorry Miss Heather. We have orders you know.” Arlington met them just inside. “The Baron is being very careful about who comes in. This last week we have had a lot of reports of illness in the north end of the fief.”
“Thank you Arlington.” Heather nodded to him. “but if you don’t mind, we need to bed down the horses, they are exhausted.” She didn’t wait for an answer, but led Enya across the side yard to the stables.
“Rub him down good and walk them both around for a bit so they don’t stiffen up.” Heather instructed Enya, knowing the girl was tired, but wanting to impress on her that the horse comes first no matter what. “I will get some hot bran mash mixed up for them both and get stalls ready.”
Soon the horses were snug in fresh box stalls, their grain eaten and Shasta wasted no time in lying down and going to sleep. Assured that her horse was going to be okay, Heather led Enya into the castle. Sounds were coming from the great hall and she realized it was supper time. Apparently there were quite a few nobles gathered in the castle due to the illness and they were all congregating in the great hall. Heather had no wish to answer questions at this late hour, so she found the Chatelaine and asked for a room and supper to be brought to them.
The Chatelaine shuffled some of the staff around and gave Heather and Enya a room near the kitchen that had two cots and several personal items of the servants who lived there. Apparently the castle was so full, all the guest rooms were taken, but Heather didn’t care. She was bone tired again and could barely eat before her eyes began to droop. She thanked the Chatelaine and told him to tell the Baron she would report to him in the morning. Then she lay down on the cot and without even taking off her boots, she was fast asleep.
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Enya
Apprentice Scribe
Posts: 109
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Post by Enya on Jun 10, 2012 17:42:13 GMT -5
Enya had stayed quiet the hole time until they got in the room.. The young girl gratefully lay down on the other cot she smiled happily before she to also fell asleep the blanket pulls up around her.
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Post by Brandwyn on Jun 16, 2012 8:05:13 GMT -5
In the morning, after a hot bath and a good breakfast, they went to see the Baron of Heatherwood Downs. They didn’t have any clean, fresh clothes to change into, but had managed to find some acceptable garments that weren’t too bedraggled from their adventurous trip here. Heather was wearing her ranger cloak and carrying her weapons. She certainly felt a lot better after the uninterrupted nine hours of sleep and the soothing hot bath.
The Baron’s aide announced them and they had to wait for several minutes while he finished up some business with his Battle Master, but soon they were ushered into his large study that looked more like a library because of the hundreds of books on many different subjects. This room was where the bulk of the business of the Shire was performed.
The room was lined with book shelves covering every wall space except the huge bay window that overlooked the castle grounds and the small village beyond the walls. Beyond the village, far off in the distance one could just catch a glimpse of the sun hitting the water of the sea if you knew where to look for it between the rolling hills and clusters of trees. In front of and facing this window was one of the Baron’s desks that was littered with stacks of paper, seals and stamps and writing quills along with several bottles of different colored ink.
In front of that desk, closer to the doorway was another desk facing out into the room with four chairs arranged in a semicircle around it. The chairs were slatted and formed a U shape to rest the seat cushion on. They had carved wooden arms that ended in horse heads that one could rest your palms on. The back was also a carved Celtica knotwork design of two horses intertwined. These back pieces could be lifted off and the chairs which would then fold up when not in use.
Along the north wall there was a fireplace with a huge mantle sporting many statues of horses and different people doing a variety of things and it was home to a cheery fire blazing in the hearth. There were also two large oak tables in the center of the room. Their bases were formed of diamond shaped compartments that ran the entire width of the table underneath and housed hundreds of rolled parchments, most of which were maps. A map of the entire fief was laid out on the table to the left and Heather glanced at it as the Baron motioned her forward. She was going to need to see the map he had of their fief and those bordering it before she left, but first she needed to give him a report and find out the state of the fief since she had left nearly two weeks ago.
The Baron, who had been sitting in his well cushioned chair between the two desks stood up and stepped around to greet Heather. He was in his early seventies, but looked to be closer to his mid-fifties. At 70 he was still an active horseman and practiced swordplay daily, refusing to give in to the frailties of old age. His dark hair was now more light gray than black, but his hazel eyes still sparkled when he smiled at Heather and gave her a big bear hug. At 6 feet 3 inches, he towered over her and despite his age and some loss of muscle he was still able to make her wince as he gripped her tightly. Over the years Heather had come to treat him more like a grandfather than her Baron, despite some criticism in that regard.
“I must say, my dear Heather, you look rather the worse for wear.” He held her back by her shoulders so he could see the bruises on her face. Heather winced as his fingers pinched too hard on her shoulder wound. Instantly he realized there were more wounds than what was visible on the surface and he let her go. “I fear your news is not good?”
Heather shook her head but then directed his attention to Enya. “Sir, I would like you to meet my new apprentice. Her name is Enya and the poor girl has literally been plucked out of the frying pan and thrown into the fire on our trek back here from the Gathering – which broke up early I might add.” Heather turned to Enya, “Enya, this is Baron Thomas Redgate and a very dear friend of mine, as is his son, Tommy.”
“Very pleased to meet you, young lady,” Thomas held out his hand to her. “That is a very unusual name you have. It is very pretty. I like it.” He smiled at her as he took her right hand and bowed to her, gently kissing the back of her hand. “Please, please, have a seat and tell me all about why you want to be a ranger.” The Baron directed Enya to one of the chairs in front of his desk and then settled back into his own chair, still smiling at her warmly as if they were old friends. “I like to get to know all of the rangers and their apprentices that pass through this fief,” he explained. “What are your interests? Do you, by any chance like horses?”
Heather grinned, knowing where this was going and gave her apprentice a nod, urging her to speak openly to the Baron.
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Enya
Apprentice Scribe
Posts: 109
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Post by Enya on Jun 17, 2012 14:35:03 GMT -5
Enya smiled " Its nice to meet you sir" She said sitting in the chair " Do be honest, i just felt drawn to the Rangers. " She said " i can tell you now, its better then being alone on the streets" She said laughing a little " And as for if i like horses.. yes, i love them. " Enya said
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Post by Brandwyn on Jun 19, 2012 11:25:45 GMT -5
"To be honest, I just felt drawn to the Rangers. " She said "I can tell you now, it’s better than being alone on the streets"
“I dare say it is,” The Baron agreed solemnly. “You shall have to tell me about your life on the streets sometime. It wasn’t here in Heatherwood was it? I have spent a great deal of time as Baron trying to provide for orphans and keep them off the streets, but I suppose it being a largely rural fief, that is much easier than in Meric or Araluen, and especially Whitbey.”
" And as for if i like horses.. yes, i love them. " Enya said.
“That’s wonderful!” Thomas grinned broadly. “I adore them myself. See? Already we have one thing in common, I am sure we can find many more.” He pointed his finger at Heather, “I remember how scared she looked when she first came before me.” He laughed and Heather rolled her eyes.
“It was on the day I was chosen and I wasn’t even supposed to be in the Choosing Line. My father had just chewed me out royally for being anywhere near where ‘that crazy ranger’ could see me, let alone accidentally standing at the end of the line.” Heather countered. “I can tell, you though, Your Excellency, I was more afraid of my father’s wrath than of meeting the Baron of my home fief and that’s saying something.” She looked to Enya, “yeah I was a bit out of my element, but I got over it quickly.”
Thomas chuckled, “that you most certainly did, My Dear.” The Baron looked back an Enya again, “but there is no need to be afraid of me or intimidated or anything. I am just a man. I put my pants on one leg at a time just like any other.” He pulled a blank piece of parchment from the desk against the window along with a quill and vial of blue ink. “The important thing to remember is that you can talk to me, Miss Enya. I want you to be comfortable around me and I want your honesty. Don’t tell me what you think I want to hear. If you are giving a report on something going on in this Fief, then you give it objectively and state the facts, even if you think I am not going to like it.” His words were somewhat stern, but the smile never left his eyes. Heather had always felt comfortable around him after that initial meeting and remembered him giving her the exact same speech the day she’d been apprenticed to the local ranger.
Then the Baron dipped his pen into the inkwell, tapped it on the side and poised it over the parchment. “So, young lady, let’s have it. Give me your first report.”
Heather glanced at Enya and then started to protest, “I haven’t given her any instruction in reports, Thomas. She’s only been an apprentice for a week or so really and that whole time we’ve been chased by pirates!”
The Baron held up his hand to stop her. “That is fine, I want to hear what she has to say.” Then he turned to Enya, “Just tell me in your own words what you have done, what you saw and what your conclusions are concerning the pirates and your trip back from the Gathering.” He smiled at her, encouraging her with a little wave of his hand which caused a drop of ink to fall and splatter on the parchment. "I find that asking myself 'who, what, where, why, when, and how' often will cover all of the pertinent facts."
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Enya
Apprentice Scribe
Posts: 109
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Post by Enya on Jun 21, 2012 11:48:53 GMT -5
“Don’t worry, I will always tell you what I have to” Enya replied
“To be honest I don’t know what to say. .. However, as for the Pirates, they only want money. That is what I think. They were quite easy to trick, I was able to trick one into a trap and almost knocked him out. . I had to teach myself a few means of defending myself when I loved on my own” Enya said “And as to your other questions .. I do not really know what to say. Most of the time I was to concern for Heather than I was myself, Being the first friend, especially after she was hurt, I wanted to do everything I could to protect her.” Enya said “I am a very Loyal person once I trust someone.. After being attacked by bandits a few years ago, it is hard to trust people at first, considering since my memories before that time are pretty much a blank” She said and stopped talking realizing she completely changed the subject.
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Post by Brandwyn on Jun 21, 2012 19:54:55 GMT -5
“Most of the time I was (more) concerned for Heather than I was myself, Being the first friend, especially after she was hurt, I wanted to do everything I could to protect her.” Enya said “I am a very loyal person once I trust someone. After being attacked by bandits a few years ago, it is hard to trust people at first, considering since my memories before that time are pretty much a blank.”
“Attacked by bandits and you lost your memory?” The Baron asked, intrigued. “You shall have to tell me what you do remember about it sometime, but I fear today is not the day for that tale. Loyalty to one’s mentor is an excellent thing and I have no doubts on that score.” The Baron nodded to her. “Not bad for your first report, especially since I put you on the spot and all.” Thomas chuckled, and then turned his attention to Heather, “Would you like to add anything?”
Heather smiled, wincing a little as the bruises on her face hurt when she smiled. “Well, there are a few details she left out, but as I said, I haven’t had a chance yet to give her any idea of what to put in a report. I shall have her help me write this one up later today.” She grinned again, wincing yet again. “Right after we go see the Doc,” she added.
Heather quickly summed up her trip to the Ranger Gathering, what had happened with the pirates right before she left and how they had chased them through two fiefs on her way back home. She left out the part on why the Gathering broke up early for now.
“I am afraid I am going to have to disagree with my apprentice’s conclusions, however, even though I am happy she thought about what the pirates are up to and I am sure she is partially correct.” Heather looked apologetically at Enya. “I think you are right Enya in that they are after money, since that is what motivates every pirate I have ever met, however I think there is more to it than simple greed.”
Thomas looked at her with an eyebrow raised in question, “How so?”
“Well, why would pirates be so interested in me? Sure, sure, I keep interrupting their little plans to steal horses and even capture a few of them now and again, but really, I haven’t done any more than any other ranger and it seems odd that they would hound me halfway to the Gathering Grounds and back.” Heather stood up and paced back and forth behind the chairs, thinking out loud as she pointed out the reasons on one hand.
“The other interesting thing is what that one bandit said that night in the woods just before he died. Did you hear him Enya?” Heather asked her. “He said it was ‘open season on rangers.’ I found that to be very interesting and disturbing. I am wondering exactly what he meant.”
“Are you sure you heard him right?” Baron Thomas asked.
“Oh yes, he was quite clear and even mocking me as he said it, as if he knew it was only a matter of time before they got me.” Heather nodded, pausing in her pacing for a moment. “The other thing they did was refer to a boss. Someone is directing them and I get the feeling that person is not nearby.” Heather looked out the big window and was just able to get a glimpse of the sea. “I am fairly certain they were trying to take us to a ship at the river’s mouth and then were going to transport us somewhere so that this Boss could interrogate us.”
“Do you think they are after other rangers then?” The Baron asked.
Heather nodded, “I do, though I don’t have any proof. No one at the Gathering had any experiences like mine, but then I didn’t find that out until after the Gathering. But think about it, if they take out all the rangers, and this plague is wiping out the soldiers, knights and civilians, then it would be awfully easy to just waltz in to Araluen and take control of it. More than that, if there is someone engineering this, he could even be encouraging these outlaws to ravish the lands, fill the country with fear and then he could waltz in with an army offering to help maintain control until the Araluen Army can rebuild. Once here, we would be powerless to stop him.”
The Baron stared at her in amazement, thinking she may have missed her calling. He had battle strategists that couldn’t see past their own nose, let alone have the foresight to come up with a potential threat such as Heather had just voiced.
“Wait a minute, what did you say about a plague?”
Heather looked at him warily, “You haven’t heard about it?” At a shake of the Baron’s head, she sat back down and looked at the floor for a moment, “That’s why the Gathering broke up early. Crowley got word that a plague has devastated Norgate and is spreading to Marshwood, Araluen and Caraway. People are fleeing and carrying it with them. Have there not been any sicknesses here?”
The Baron seemed to have frozen with a strange look on his face. “What are the symptoms?”
Heather cited the fever, white pustules and headaches among the most prominent and the figures Crowley had been given that most die from it the first time around and those who don’t tend to get it a second or even third time and it seems to be worse with each time they catch it. “The mortality rate is extremely high.” Heather added, “And it has already reached Whitby. That is one reason I didn’t take the more traveled route to get back here.”
The Baron had stood up and was looking out the window, his back to the women, and one hand gripping the back of his chair. “I got a report three days ago from Greenport…there are over one hundred ill or dead. They started getting sick three weeks ago after a group of refugees from the North debarked from a fishing vessel.” He turned an anguished face to her, “It is too late to close off the town to keep it from spreading; the monthly fish market day was yesterday!”
Heather looked stricken, “My family usually goes to that,” she said in a hushed voice. “Thomas, I have to go check on them!” She stood up, a sense of panic enveloping her. “I pray to God they did not go this month.”
“Go,” the Baron ordered, knowing she would not be able to concentrate on her duties until she found out if her family was okay or not. “I will send a small escort with you, since those pirates are probably still looking for you. Surely they will have your family lands staked out.”
Heather nodded, she had already thought of that and was glad of the escort this time, although normally she would have argued that a ranger doesn’t need any help. This time she wanted to get to her family quickly and she didn’t have time to play with pirates.
“Come on Enya, we need to get supplies and some dry, clean clothes. Let’s go down to the storerooms and see what ole Laddy has that will fit you.” Heather said and bowed to the Baron who smiled sadly and waved them off as he turned back to the window, already trying to figure out how he could minimize the effects of the plague.
“Stay out of Greenport, Heather,” he warned as they were leaving, “I am going to close the port. It is probably too late, but… I have to try.”
Heather nodded, “Might I suggest that you send out missives to all the villages telling the people to stay on their forms or in their homes and not to congregate? Tell them the sickness is spreading through the whole land and the safest place for them is at home.”
“There will still be panic, but yes, I will do that.” The Baron sat down at his desk and took up his quill. Heather left them there with a sad look at Enya as they closed the door. “Damn Pirates!” Heather cursed, “If we hadn’t been messing around with them I might have gotten back here early enough to warn him so he could have cancelled Fish Market Day.”
Heather led Enya down to the first level below ground under the castle. This level was filled with many doors leading to storerooms filled with a variety of things from food to clothing to weapons and even toys.
“Pick out what you want, as much as you want, Enya. It all gets recorded and the Ranger Corps pays for it, just don’t go too crazy.” She grinned and winced again. “Darn, I wanted to get this looked at, but now I need to find out if my family is okay. If we leave within the hour, we can make it to my farm by suppertime.”
Heather looked through boxes of clothing and then at several garments hanging on the wracks and picked out some outfits that were a bit heavier and made of wool. “Make sure to get some stuff that is warmer and will shed water. We are moving into the rainy season and it is going to get colder.”
They went from clothing to footwear to weapons and then to food, filling up a backpack each and two sets of saddlebags. “Anything else you think we might need?” Heather asked before they headed back up the stairs and to the stables.
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Enya
Apprentice Scribe
Posts: 109
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Post by Enya on Jun 22, 2012 21:29:40 GMT -5
Enya sighed a little gathering the stuff up " nothing I can think of" She replied following her, once in the stables she patted stormy on the head " hey there boy" she said smiling, Enya loved her horse, Stormy nuzzled her with his nose snorting in greeting.
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Post by Brandwyn on Jun 28, 2012 10:34:20 GMT -5
Heather’s desire to leave within the hour came true and they were soon galloping down the main road from the castle with an escort of four Araluen Guard members. She had her bow out and strung and felt good for the first time in weeks having had a good night’s sleep and a nice hot bath and was wearing clean clothes. She couldn’t do much about the bruises on her face and though it didn’t show on the outside, her shoulder wound was bandaged and the doctor had admonished her to wear a sling. Heather had left his office with it on, but as soon as she was out of sight, she pulled the sling off. She didn’t want to advertise her injury to any bandits that might be out there on the road waiting for her.
As they rode, she kept her eyes on the trees ahead and to the side of them. One of their escort rode twenty feet ahead of them with the others clustered around Enya and Heather. It bothered Heather that she was being guarded as if she were a pampered noblewoman incapable of protecting herself. She had to keep telling herself that the past week proved she wasn’t up to dealing with these pirates on her own. She would have slipped out, however, without the escort if not for Enya. The girl didn’t have the training yet to travel unseen through the wilds and Heather wasn’t going to put her in jeopardy if she could avoid it. So she set a fast pace and accepted the escort and rode on with a determined set to her face, not talking very much at first.
As they got closer to her family home, however, she began to point out landmarks to Enya. They passed a very large lake with crystal clear water that was dotted with fishing boats. There were other farms and especially horse farms and markets that dotted the landscape and Heather knew all of the people who dwelled there. Some were near the road and she waved and called out a greeting as they thundered past.
They alternated between a canter and a trot with only an occasional walk to let the horses breathe for a while. At lunchtime they made a brief stop at a small village inn. Heather wanted to know if the innkeeper had seen any sick people come through. The Inn was called the Red Horse Pub and Heather had visited it on many occasions in the past. The owner was a plump little woman named Luanne and she was a font of information. They stayed long enough to eat lunch and rest the horses and Heather filed away several bits of gossip from Luanne to sort out later. The best news she had was that Luanne had not had any sick patrons at her inn and now that she knew what to look for, she would take measures to keep it that way. They talked for several minutes about setting up an infirmary encampment just outside the village and Luanne said she would organize it and get volunteers to help so they would be prepared if anyone fell ill.
They pressed on and another three hours of hard riding saw them riding up main road to her father’s farm. The farmhouse was surrounded by a high stone wall that encompassed the main house, the bunk house and the three largest barns with ample paddock and pasturage should they need to bring all the animals into the protection of the 10 foot tall crenalated walls. At first glance is looked to be a castle, but once beyond the imposing gate with the Circled H symbol made of cast iron that adorned it, you got a good look at the house and realized it was more like a mansion than a castle. It also appeared at first glance that the owner of this home was a wealthy nobleman and that is exactly what Heather’s father and Grandfather had intended when they labored for over a year to build the house. It took another five years for the family to erect the stone wall and it was continuously being maintained and expanded so that now there were three smaller walled enclosures behind the barns where they could hide the sheep and cows should the farm ever be raided.
Heather rode up to the gate and was surprised to find it closed. Normally it stood open and inviting and was only closed when something was wrong. Heather hoped it meant that her father knew of the illness spreading through the land and was keeping people out, and not…
She rode up to the chain hanging from the bell tower above the gate and pulled it three times, paused and pulled it two more times. Then she sat back and waited, her eyes darting from the barn to the house that she could see was occupied. There was smoke rising from the chimney and she caught a glimpse of laundry hanging out to dry at the end of the house.
“Please, please, please let them be alright,” she muttered as she waited impatiently, her brow furrowed with worry.
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Enya
Apprentice Scribe
Posts: 109
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Post by Enya on Jun 28, 2012 22:33:53 GMT -5
Enya looked around some, she had mostly stayed quiet.As they had traveled. " You alright Heather? " She asked looking at her. Enya was confused, but mostly because she still had hardly no memory of her past leading up to the bandits attacking her a few years before, so she did not remember anything of her family, or if she even had one.
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Post by Brandwyn on Jul 14, 2012 22:52:17 GMT -5
"You alright Heather?" Enya asked.
Heather nodded, “I’ve never really worried that much before about anyone in my family dying, and if one of them is sick, it could wipe out everyone!” Heather watched the house anxiously and pulled the string again. “I don’t think I could endure that,” she muttered.
Suddenly the door banged open and her youngest sibling bounded out to the gate. “Who goes here?” He said boldly, clutching a small crossbow against his chest.
“Someone who knows how to use that thing far better than you, Little Brother,” Heather grinned in relief. “Now let me in and tell me how everyone is.”
Joseph’s face lit up, “Heather!” he yelled. “Wait here!” he said and then took off back up to the house with Heather watching him in surprise.
“He could have let us in before he went running off,” Heather said as she swung down off her horse and dusted herself off. She grinned at Enya, “I am doing much better now! I just hope you can withstand the barrage of questions you are about to be assaulted with from my family.”
Within minutes the bulk of Heather’s family was walking quickly back out to the gate, her father bringing up the rear. Heather didn’t see her mother or grandmother and two of her older brothers were absent as well. She studied her father’s face as he came striding up to the gate, stopping a good ten feet away. Heather noticed there was a line on the ground in the dirt there. She looked at him, perplexed.
“Heather, I feared the worst when we got a visit from your friend Ben yesterday and you hadn’t shown up here yet.”
“Ben was here? How the heck did he get here so fast? Is he still here?” Heather’s eyes roved the grounds. “Let us in, Papa.”
Her father looked her over, then he gave a long scan of Enya and each one of their escort in turn. “Are any of you the slightest bit ill?”
Heather shook her head, “no and we haven’t been near anyone who has been sick either. It’s safe to let us in.”
Finally her father strode forward and unlocked the gate and swung it open. He pointed to the old bunk house that was hardly used anymore. “You gentlemen may bed down there for the night. We’ll bring your supper out to you.” He looked quizzically at Enya, raising an eyebrow in question.
“This is Enya, my new apprentice,” Heather answered the unspoken question as she led Enya and their escort through the gates. She stepped in front of her father and gave him a long hug. “Hello Papa!” then there were hugs all around from the rest of her family. Finally she was able to ask the question she’d been dying to find out. “Papa, is anyone in the family sick? Where is Mama?”
Her father smiled as he locked the gate back up, ordering her siblings to go tend to the horses. Enya followed along behind the guard’s horses to the stables with her father walking beside her. “They are all fine as far as I know. Matt and Jeff are down in the lower field and should be back any time now for supper. Which is where your ma and grandma are getting it ready,” he replied as he watched her brush out Shasta and bed her down in a box stall with lots of hay, water and some sweet feed. “Your Grandpa is in his workshop, probably didn’t hear you or the bell. His hearing is not what it once was.”
Heather smiled, “I shall have to do see what is latest project is.” Heather grinned, then sobered. “So you have obviously heard about the plague, did you go to Market Day and is that why you are locking the gates?” She asked him. Her father nodded. “That’s why alright. We got word of sickness in Greenwood just two days before we were going to leave out of there. The person riding through looked terrified and a bit feverish. I managed to keep her in the courtyard for a bit, but not for long before she was fleeing the sickness.” Her father said. “I locked the gates right after and we’ve been holed up here ever since.”
Heather turned to Enya, “They grow everything they need here on the farm to survive, so they don’t have any need to go anywhere else and could hole up here indefinitely”
Her father laughed, “well not quite, but we are set for a good long while.”
The horses being settled, Heather and her father headed to the house with her siblings milling about around her. As she and her father caught up on news, Heather noticed her 15 year old brother, Joseph, was watching Enya with interest. Finally he burst out with the question that had been utmost in his mind, “You’re a little young to be an apprentice, aren’t you? How do you like it? Seen any action yet?”
Joseph was considered by many of the village girls to be a hot commodity. His family wasn’t wealthy, but they had more than a lot of peasants and led a good life. Plus Joey was ruggedly handsome with his sandy brown hair and blue eyes. He was just loosing that awkward lanky pre-teen body and phasing into a muscle-bound young man and his voice was in the middle of changing, causing it to crack every so often and go from a light tenor to a deep baritone. It was obvious to Heather that her little brother had ‘girls’ on his mind. She shot him a warning look not to mess with her apprentice, but it appeared as if subtlety was lost on him. She rolled her eyes and gave Enya a warning look, “if he pesters you too much, feel free to knock him out,” she suggested to Enya.
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Enya
Apprentice Scribe
Posts: 109
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Post by Enya on Jul 15, 2012 10:22:29 GMT -5
Enya blinked in confusion then smiled " maybe i dont know, and yes i do like it so far, its alot better than being on my own. and yeah, we have seen some action" Enya said with a small laugh. but deep down she felt sad, being around Heather's family now made the black hair girl miss her own. ~ my family is gone i know that, but.. why can i not remimber why?~ she thought to herself.
___________________ corrected by staff:
“You’re a little young to be an apprentice, aren’t you? How do you like it? Seen any action yet?”
Enya blinked in confusion then smiled, "Maybe, but I don’t know, and yes I do like it so far, it’s a lot better than being on my own. And yeah, we have seen some action" Enya said with a small laugh, but deep down she felt sad. Being around Heather's family now caused Enya to miss her own family, ‘my family is gone, I know that, but… why can I not remember what happened?’ she thought to herself.
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