Okay, I’m chill. I’m chill. I’m fine. Wasn’t like I was taking a day off from The Watch to attend to some official bard paperwork back at the guild or anything like that. Nope. Definitely not. GOD DAMMIT MIDTERMS WHY.
I have yet to review the official evidence that has come from this event and unfortunately will not be able to until later this evening. However, Mage Artist Fay from House Jameson has informed me that she encountered evidence of The Enemy’s magic within the Western Forest, near the border of House Jameson and House Marvin. Lookouts at the Gáire Roosts Outpost have also reported evidence of Enemy movements in the area, and the outpost has been put at high alert.
I am also hearing reports of evidence of the missing Lords coming from the lookouts at The Roosts as well! Apparently, some evidence of all of the Lords but Lord Jackie has been detected among the hints of Enemy movements. I cannot validate these reports at the moment, but will return when I have time to investigate further, review the reports in more depth, and go over the magical record of the event itself.
With Anticipation,
Bard Emily Keyes
Written to Fellow Members of The Watch in the Third Month of the Year One Thousand Six Hundred and Fourteen.
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Today, Watchers from Gáire Roosts Outpost have initiated several investigative and reconnaissance missions in the wake of The Enemy’s movements yesterday. While the information gleaned about those events is relatively the same as reported earlier, something new has been discovered this morning.
A single trace of magic was found by some eagle-eyed mages in the forest bordering House Jameson. According to them, whatever spell left that remnant behind was cast today, not yesterday. However, they are unable to tell exactly who or what cast the spell itself. There is so little trace of its magical signature left behind that they can only guess. Of course, given the events of yesterday, most assume it is likely the magic of The Enemy, but we cannot be sure.
In addition, something... odd... happened at the end of King Sean’s daily proclamation this morning. The proclamation itself seemed fairly normal; the king even took the time to thank us all for our continued devotion to the kingdom and all of its endeavors. However, afterwards, pamphlets with the phrase, “Now devote yourselves further,” were found among the belongings of every Watcher who attended or viewed the proclamation. It’s unclear if magic is involved in this, but many are concerned about how similar these notes are in tone and style to the messages sent directly to The Watch by The Enemy a few months ago.
I don’t think I need to explain why this occurrence is deeply alarming.
My business with the Bard’s Guild is finally concluded, and I’ve been blessed with the ability to finally report these events almost immediately after their occurrence. However, this does mean that more details of note might be uncovered after this message is delivered to you. Keep the Watch, and should you or others discover more about this event, I ask that I be informed immediately so I can write an update as soon as I am able.
With Anticipation,
Bard Emily Keyes
Written to fellow members of The Watch in the Third Month of the Year One Thousand Six Hundred and Fourteen
If you’re confused as to why it’s march again, check out this post.
My original post on March 1614, titled “Oh, by the way, it’s March now,” is hilariously rushed. This was back when au months lasted about three days irl, and I frantically trying to keep up without missing an update. Despite its harried and overall completely uninformative nature, I feel the need to quote it for posterity:
“March is a boring month where nothing ever happens. Literally. Nothing has ever happened in march in the entire history of the kingdom, except for the renewal of enemy raids in 1604 and the disappearance of Lord Brody in 1608.
However, March is the month where those with farms will begin start planting some of their early crops. So that’s cool. Yay for plants.”
Yay for plants indeed. Hilariously, this post was written before I had even started thinking about the posts that would eventually describe what those plants are. It wasn’t until over a week later that @a-septic-mind started blessing me with tons of research on medieval diets and agriculture to help me get that ball rolling.
February is still cold enough to preserve and even add to the snow that covers Duilintinn in the winter months, but in March, the cold finally begins to break. Depending on the year, it might take a little while for the ground to thaw, but ideally, farmers would start tilling the grounds of their fields for the spring crops in early to mid-March.
In House Brody, this means that barley, beans, peas, oats, rice, and potatoes are being sown into the soil in astronomical amounts. The yield of these crops is vital to feeding Duilintinn’s vast population of twenty-one million. While farming is common practice across the kingdom, many regions can’t produce enough to survive due to poor soil, urbanization, or the magical phenomenon that stunts the growth of many mundane crops. In addition, House Brody is in constant fear that The Enemy will send another famine upon their lands. Every plot of land that isn’t used for pastures or roads has been converted into farmland, with excess produce stored away against the day we face another shortage.
As a result, March and August in House Brody is a frenzied time where hoes, seeds, and soil are the only thing on anyone’s mind. It’s astonishing to watch how hard these people work over something we take for granted every year. The frozen soil turns rich and brown seemingly overnight, with miles of neatly tilled rows of dirt as far as the eye can see. Idleness could very well bring disaster, so no one stops working until every seed is sown safely into the ground. If a man’s ox goes lame halfway through his fields, three more will show up on his doorstep with their owners the next morning. Even the farmers that tend the perennial herbs are still rushing around, caught between aiding their counterparts replant the annuals and ensuring that their charges do not get trampled in the confusion.
To the people of House Brody, this exhausting labor is normal. It’s a duty that they can’t afford to put aside. Much of their work goes unpraised and unnoticed, despite the fact that we would not survive as a kingdom without their efforts. It’s a humbling reminder of the unsung heroes that make King Sean’s people into the vibrant, thriving communities that we know and love.
Planting the spring crops is a far less intense affair in farms outside House Brody. Watchers in outposts and garrisons across the kingdom will all receive “planting shifts” in addition to their regular duties for a few weeks, while dedicated herbalists and gardeners attend to subsequent maintenance such as weeding and watering. Though misbehaving Watchers might find themselves on garden duty if they’re lucky enough to avoid a shift in the kitchens...
Other than that, March is fairly uneventful in Duilintinn, or as uneventful as things could be while The Enemy threatens the kingdom. It’s rather unnerving that King Sean chose to respond to this message referencing Lord Brody’s disappearance a few days before the month he was presumably attacked... but that’s probably just a coincidence.
Happy March, my fellow Watchers! May we be blessed with bountiful fields and positive outlooks as the cold months begin to pass us by. As always, Keep the Watch!
After the events at Gáire Roosts last week, I completely forgot to write an the account of my journey and miscellaneous events that occurred during my stay in House Jameson. While the trip itself was a personal venture to fill out some paperwork and catch up with peers in the Bard’s Guild, some of my experiences on the trip and during my stay may be of interest to The Watch.
The journey itself went surprisingly well. I set out at the end of the month, the morning after King Sean held his most recent charity event in the capital. Much of this winter’s snowfall is still piled up in dense banks along the roadsides of House Jackie, but the roads themselves were clear and manageable as ever. I made excellent time, reaching Runner’s Haven in less than two days.
Once there, I personally ensured that all of your letters and messages made their way into trustworthy hands. I was told to inform you all that, while spies have continued to crop up across Duilintinn, few have attempted to interfere with the duties of messengers and riders across the kingdom. Clearly, whatever evil power holds sway over these poor souls cannot convince them to violate our traditional values on such matters, and for that, I am grateful.
In addition, it was here that I received word about the King’s troubling response to The Watch. Messengers at the outpost graciously distributed my letter on the subject to the garrisons and outposts on my behalf as I continued my journey.
After another three days journey, I reached Fort Conchúr. Despite the responsibilities that awaited me at the Bard’s Guild, over a day’s journey to the south, I ended up spending a full day at the garrison recuperating from the long journey.
Okay, that’s a lie. I spent the whole day in the library working on the paperwork I needed to turn in at the guild. You know, the stuff that I probably should have done before I left, but instead carefully ignored in their waterproof canvas package until the day before my arrival.
Thankfully, Librarian Kat of House Jameson was at her usual place among the bookshelves, accompanied by her newly-appointed familiar, Diaval. The mountain of forms were far easier to endure with Kat’s quiet, knowing company as she reminisced about her days learning how to tend the books all around us. She joked that we should burn useless files such as these, which served no purpose other than to analyze our abilities at something we don’t particularly feel like doing… but in the end, we settled for lighting a stove instead and shared hot drinks to keep warm as the sun dipped below the horizon.
I must say, Diaval is an extraordinarily intelligent and well-behaved animal; whoever conducted and approved his familiar status knows what they’re doing. He barely made a sound as I worked; the only time I even noticed him pacing at Kat’s feet was when she seemed to take ill for a moment. I can hardly blame Kat for her moment of disconcertion; I nearly dozed off in my seat multiple times throughout the evening. It’s a wonder the two of them don’t lose all sense of time amidst the ancient tomes. I feel like I could get lost in the knowledge within them for a century, and the cold drafts coming from between the stone walls of Fort Conchúr certainly have a knack for keeping you huddled up indoors.
Unfortunately, spending one hundred years in The Watch’s library is not possible when you have guild business to attend to in the south. I took my leave of Kat, Diaval, and Fort Conchúr the next morning, planning to arrive at the guild by the next day. Of course, this was precisely when Watchers at the Roosts spotted signs of The Enemy’s movements near the forest border. Mage Artist Fay, a fellow Watcher and friend who had been in the Western Forest during my brief stay in Fort Conchúr, managed to intercept me on the road and relay the news, stopping only briefly to point me in the direction of the outpost before continuing towards Fort Conchúr. The rest, of course, is history.
My journey back to Fort Stiofán began two days ago, and Lord willing I should arrive at the garrison in five days time. I’m currently spending another evening of far more enjoyable writing in the library of Fort Conchúr with Kat. She was the one who suggested I write to you with all that’s occurred on my journey, though she is unaware of the glowing appraisal of her company I’ve included within this letter. While such an account may not be particularly helpful in our watch for The Enemy, I truly believe that such stories of mundane contentment and peace amidst the tides of chaos are exactly what we need to carry positivity and encouragement into the days ahead.
With Warm Regards,
Bard Emily Keyes
Written to fellow members of The Watch in the Third Month of the Year One Thousand Six Hundred and Fourteen.
After completing my business in the Bard’s Guild and riding through the wet and dark to the Gáire Roosts Outpost, I’ve finally been able to view the evidence from this morning’s reports and see the magical record for myself. All while completely soaked to the skin, I might add. I’ve had nothing but stale bread all day because I’ve either been too rushed or too tired to cook a proper meal, yet instead of sleep, all I want to do is throw rotten eggs at The Enemy’s slimy green face.
Most of the information sent in my previous letter was correct; these are the clearest signs of The Enemy’s magic and movements that The Watch has seen in some time. Much of the evidence specifically calls back to the early months of 1608, which resulted in Lord Brody’s disappearance on the road this very month six years ago, and also is eerily similar to the magic used by The Enemy in the early days of his rise to infamy prior to his first attempt on King Sean’s life.
However, far more concerning is the truth behind the reports of evidence regarding the missing lords. While the case behind signs of Lord Marvin, Lord Brody, and Lord Schneeplestein is tentative at best, there are clearly signs of Lord Jameson’s magical aura amidst the signs of The Enemy himself. This might very well prove our fears that The Enemy is controlling Lord Jameson through his dark powers or, worse still, that Lord Jameson has defected to The Enemy’s side. However, there could also be a far simpler explanation. The Enemy’s troops were moving along the Western Forest near the border of House Jameson; for all we know, the noble lord may have simply been using his magic in an attempt to repel our foes.
If more significant discoveries are made, I will do my utmost to report them to The Watch as they arise. However, I do still have one last bit of business to attend to at the Bard’s Guild tomorrow morning (stupid midterms). Therefore, if anything of note transpires while I am away, please inform me as quickly as possible by express messenger or raven.
May we all remain vigilant and watchful as we face the threats ahead of us.
With Anticipation,
Bard Emily Keyes
Written to Fellow Members of The Watch in the Third Month of the Year One Thousand Six Hundred and Fourteen
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Bard’s Note: Here’s my Day 22 of Inktober 2020! This story features @fairyofsomething‘s Mage Artist Fay and my own Bard Em once again. While I didn’t write this with a specific date in mind, after doing the math and comparing my notes about where Fay and Keyes have been, I realized that there’s only one time that this reasonably COULD have taken place; March 9th, 1614, prior to meeting Kat in the library as referenced in this letter.
__***__***__***__
Keyes didn’t even bother trying to hold the pages of her journal open as another gust of wind flew over the parapets. Not for the first time, the bard silently wished she had the foresight to bring a weighted object like her companion did.
“Do you often draw up here?” Keyes asked, petulantly eying the steady hand of Mage Artist Fay.
The artist’s eyes never left the page. “Not really.”
“Then why do you always have those paperweights with you?”
“My magic can be… hmm… unpredictable, I guess. I still haven’t honed my focus as much as I’d like. One day I was in the middle of a painting…”
“Ah.”
“Yep.”
Keyes let the conversation drop. Her gaze returned to the true source of her frustrations; the mountains in the distance.
Ever since she started traveling for her job as a bard- maybe even before that- Keyes had been obsessed with maps. There was something about the combination of artistry and information packed into a single image that had grabbed her mind and refused to let go. Cartography became akin to a productive hobby; a personal skill she developed as a resource in her work as a bard, rather than something she contributed directly to The Watch. The process taught her many things: how the terrain of Duilintinn affected travel times, how the various regions of the kingdom are largely defined by their ecosystems, how the cultures and events she writes about are influenced heavily by the geography around them…
And exactly how terrible she was at drawing mountains.
Which is how Keyes found herself on the rooftop of Fort Conchúr, squinting petulantly at the mountains in the distance with Fay by her side.
When Keyes had first asked the artist for help, the pair had started out indoors, where Fay showed her at least a dozen drawings and diagrams explaining how light and shading made mountains look, well, mountainous. It was a start- at least her mountains didn’t look like a bunch of flat triangles anymore? Seemingly pleased with her progress, around midday, Fay had suggested they sit on the rooftop and try to sketch the actual Southern Mountains in the distance.
At the time, it had seemed like a great idea. Now, however…
“I don’t understand!” Keyes finally exclaimed, only barely resisting the urge to throw her charcoal over the parapets as she gesticulated with frustration at the shapeless blob of darkness that covered a large portion of the mountains. “That’s not how the shading is supposed to work!”
At this, Fay glanced up again, turned, and looked at the mountain. Looked back at Keyes. Looked up at the sky. Back at the mountain. Back at Keyes.
“Emily… that’s the shadow of a cloud.”
Keyes decided that she was done drawing for the day after that.
Author’s Note: Here we go again, my character Ivy and @marginmaster87’s Jen in the Western Forest, this time with special guest star Gus Graham! Who is another one of mine… I have a lot of characters for this, I don’t know if even Em’s seen them all! Also timeline readjustments that Em mentioned last time, by brain hurts from it, so, go off what she said. Also Em, don’t worry about the new plants and animals just yet, we won’t come across any new ones this chapter.
Bard’s Note: TOO LATE! I did them all and stuck them in the queue before getting around to reading and proofreading this. Oops! For some reason, timelines don’t make my brain hurt, but googling plant and animal physiology does… Speaking of timelines, this all would have taken place the evening of March 31st. Anyway, shoutout to @theshapeshifter100 once again for writing this, and as always, cut added for length. If you missed them, go check out Part 1 and Part 2!
“I’ve never actually been,” Jen realised out loud as they rode. “Have you?”
Ivy pulled up her mental map, having traveled across the kingdom enough to know roughly where they were.
“It’ll be the Roosts, so yes. We’ll probably bump into my friend Gus while we’re there.”
“Oh that’s cool, what’s he like?”
Ivy let out a long breath,” He’s, er, a bit full of himself to be honest. He’s a nice guy, just, doesn’t always think before he speaks.”
Jen let out a bark of laughter. “That sounds like my brother. I think it’s a guy thing.”
“I suppose,” Ivy thought. “I’d have put it down to a Guard thing honestly. Was you brother in the Guard?”
“That Guard? No, he’s a tinkerer,” she almost chuckled at the thought. “He fixes farm equipment, but I bet he’d forge his ploughshare into a sword if he could.”
“Gus could help him with that!” Ivy laughed. “Born and raised in a forge and joined the Guard once he came of age. So, he’s officially a Knight.”
“That’s so cool!” Jen’s eyes appeared to be shining. “I don’t know much about it, to be honest, but I know Knights are important.”
Ivy let out a sigh, suddenly a bit weary, and began to explain. “Generally new recruits start in June and train for several years at the main Barracks and Training Grounds in House Jackie, then they go out into the world to guard whoever pays them. Almost like mercenaries but they get angry if you call them that, and we have mercenaries anyway. Anyone who completes the full training gets the title of Knight, from there you can continue up to higher Knight ranks, but Gus quit only a couple of years after graduating.”
“Oh, that’s interesting,” Jen nodded to herself. “They don’t tell us stuff like this back home. I thought the Guard and the Watch were both part of one big military.”
“No. The Guard and the Watch are very different things,” Ivy paused before adding. “I prefer the Watch.”
“Cool. If you’re in it, I guess I prefer it too,” Jen smiles.
Ivy blinked at her and stared for a second, brain not quite working and uncertain if there was any subtext behind that. “Um, thank you?”
Jen grinned wider. “I wonder what’s going on up there?” she asked, before seeming to have changed subject. “I mean, what do you do in a watchtower? I love looking at the woods all day, but it’s not for everyone.”
Ivy blinked again and looked further down the path, wondering if she was missing something.
“Well, watchtower duty is fairly dull. I’m not often on it unless someone is ill. Or, if there’s nothing better to do,” she revised.
Jen hummed to herself. “Just remember to look in weird angles. My brother said once that people never look above or below where it’s most comfortable. He said that’s where assassins hide. I don’t know if he’s right though.”
“That sounds about right,” Ivy agreed. “It’s just hard when you’re in full armour to look up. Thankfully, I’m no longer in armour!” she realised what that implied and quickly continued before Jen picked up on it. “Although the best place to be on watching duty is the Spire. You can see the entire kingdom from the top of the Spire.”
“That’s true?!” Jen looked gleefully astonished. “Wow, that’s amazing.”
“It is truly something,” Ivy nodded. “The Spire is beautiful from the ground as well, have you ever been?”
“Only once, when I was a teenager.”
“It’s not something you forget,” Ivy looked ahead down the road. “We must be nearly at the Roosts by now.”
“Yeah, I think I can see it!” Jen lifted herself up in the saddle and craned her neck. “Do we have to say something special to get in, or…?”
“Not usually, but the whole outpost is on edge at the minute. You’re with me, so we should be alright,” Ivy assured.
The two of them rode up to the gates guarding the few ground based buildings of the outpost. Everything was up in the trees in trees houses.
There was some damage on the ground based walls, and high above there were scorch marks, half burned buildings and smashed walkways in the process of being rebuilt and repaired. It could be considered a sorry sight, but it was a lot better than it was when Ivy first arrived two weeks ago*.
Ivy dismounted Firefly and banged her fist against the gate.
A small slot in the gate opened up, then after a second closed again. The gate opened and a Watcher in battered armour looked out.
“Do you have a message Paris?” they asked, not unreasonably.
“No,” she responded, “but my friend and I would like to stop be for the night.”
The Watcher thought about it, then opened the gate for the two of them to come through. The Watcher nodded to the two of them as they came in.
“You know where everything is Paris,” the stated. “Graham’s in the barracks last I saw.”
Ivy nodded in thanks to him, leading Firefly in. Jen saw the burned walls of the ground building and was instantly on edge.
“So,” she started, “were you here when…?”
“No, I wasn’t here for the raids,” Ivy answered the unfinished question. “I just volunteered for the repairs and fortifications. Since, I have a lot of experience fighting off Enemy raids.”
“Oh cool,” the reply seemed like a reflexive response.
“Anyway,” Ivy started once they had stabled their horses, jabbing her thumb towards the ladder leading up into the canopy. “Shall we?”
“Ooo! Yeah!” Jen’s excitement was back.
“Up we go then!” Ivy led the way up the ladder, very familiar with how it swayed and creaked on the way up. It was perfectly stable, just made of flexible wood.
As she climbed she instinctively looked around for Otto, then remembered that he’d gone back to the cart. Instead she looked down at Jen.
“Having fun?!” she called.
Jen nodded back up. She looked out over the forest, and began to speak.
“You didn’t have to say yes you know. If you wanted to stay with Otto I would have let you.”
Ivy shrugged, reaching the top of the ladder and waiting for Jen.
“It was his decision,” he explained, “and frankly, it’s about time he left the nest.”
“Oh, that’s good, then,” Jen reached the top and looked out over the forest from this new height. “Wow!”
“Quite a sight huh?” Ivy followed Jen’s gaze.
From this high up the forest took on a different feel. The trees that had shut out the light were now their protectors, and light glimmered though more freely. Despite the repairs, the charm and almost childlike design of the Roosts (every child wanted a treehouse after all) would lighten even the hardest of hearts.
“I love it!” Jen declared.
Ivy grinned at her enthusiasm before continuing on.
“I’ll introduce you to Gus. The barracks are…” Ivy’s finger roamed as she tried to remember the exact direction. “…this way,” she decided, and began to lead the way across the wood and rope walkways and bridges.
As they walked the wood underneath Jen’s foot bent, sending her toppling forward.
“Woah” she cried out in surprise. With a quick reaction time Ivy grabbed her arm before she fell and hauled her upright.
“Sorry. The walkways are a little finicky right now. Although, they wouldn’t let us on them if they weren’t safe.”
The two walked along a little bit, the walkways swaying gently in the spring evening breeze. Inside the wooden buildings lights flickered as candles were lit. They approached one with the most windows, and several shadows are moving inside.
“Alright, here we are. Gus should be inside,” Ivy declared.
“Thanks,” Jen responded with a slight giggle.
Ivy leaned her head through the door and spotted a familiar figure. A man taller than her, but also younger by about four years. From this angle she could only really see his black hair which was speckled with grey, like soot had settled there.
“Hey, Bellows!” she yelled out to him.
He jerked up in surprise and looked around, blue eyes settling on the Ivy by the door. He got out of his bed nook and came over.
“Couldn’t stay away long enough could you?” he asked, grinning in a way that was deliberately irritating.
Ivy rolled her eyes at him. “I’ll be out again tomorrow. I just wanted to introduce someone I’m working with,” she gestured between Gus and Jen. “Gus, this is Jen. Jen, Gus.”
“Hello!” Jen responded.
“Or as most folks call me, Bellows,” Gus added, still grinning and nodding at Jen.
“Nice to meet you!” Jen offered her hand, and he took it in his warm, calloused hand, covered in old burns, shaking firmly.
“Good to meet you too. Where’d you pick this one up?” he jabbed his thumb at Ivy. “I know full well how hard it is to pin her down!”
“She found me, actually,” Jen informed. “By yelling my name into a crowd,” she added with a laugh.
“Ah, no shame that one,” he winked at Jen, and Ivy sighed loudly.
“Alright Bellows, are you flirting now?”
Jen’s smile dropped a little in surprise at the statement, and Gus was affronted.
“I can’t be nice to someone?!”
“I can’t tell sometimes,” Ivy responded. “Now, are you going to eat, or what?”
“Alright,” Gus rolled his eyes back at Ivy, both of them oblivious to Jen grinning at her own thoughts. “Let’s go eat. I’ve been out repairing bridges all day and I am starving!”
Ivy raised her eyebrows at him. “I thought that was your permanent state of being?”
“Well you do seem good at making connections,” Jen commented.
“We’ve just known each other a long time,” Ivy wasn’t certain if she was missing something again. Gus just winked and clapped Ivy on the back.
“Come on! Let’s get some food. And I won’t flirt,” he promised.
“I will hold you to that.”
The three of them left, with Gus holding most of the conversation. Thanks to Ivy he tried not to be overly familiar with Jen, but he did ask a few things.
“So Jen, what is it you’ve got Ivy helping you with?”
Ivy decided to answer that question. “I’m her bodyguard while she goes through the Western Forest.”
Gus laughed when she said that.
“I thought you left the Guard stuff behind?” he asked, and Ivy shrugged and glared at him.
“I know what I’m good at.”
“Yeah, we’re finding helpful plants and stuff in the woods,” Jen intervened. “Did you know there’s patches of Fire Star out there? And big grasshoppers with magical blood?”
“None of those things mean anything to me,” Gus admitted. “But if you’re excited about it, it must be interesting. How big were these grasshoppers?”
“About the size of locusts,” Jen held out her hands to give an approximate size. “There was only one though. I don’t think the pose a threat,” she then added quickly. “But they are very interesting.”
“If they have magical blood, then I guess they are,” Gus paused in front of a new building. Smoke poured out of the chimneys in the roof and the candle light was bright, with many moving shadows inside.
He held the door open and shot Ivy an annoying grin.
“After you ladies.”
Ivy took full advantage of this, smacking him across the back of the head as she walked past. Jen sent Gus a knowing smirk as she went past and Gus closed the door behind them.
“Well, you two are the siblingist siblings I’ve ever met,” she noted.
“We’re not related. Thankfully,” Ivy glared at Gus, who grinned back.
“Oh?” Jen was surprised.
“No,” Gus’s smile went warm, “I wouldn’t have minded if your were my sister,” he added to Ivy, who’s brain struggled to cope with that.
Jen smiled, thinking she’d figured it out. “Then you’re the best pair of friends I’ve ever met.”
Ivy’s brain caught up and she quickly shook her head as they sat down at a table.
“No, no like that. Definitely friends,” she assured, and Gus was equally adamant.
“No no no nope. No offence, but, no.”
“What?” Jen was honestly confused, “Oh!” Jen went bright pink in embarrassment and laughed out loud.
Gus roared with laughter as well, tilting his head back and slammed his hand on the table. “You actually thought-? By the gods that’s hilarious!”
Ivy meanwhile buried her head in her arms and flipped him the bird.
They got food soon after that, and Ivy decided to turn the conversation to something less awkward, for her.
“How’s the defense building going? Impressed anyone yet?” she wore the annoying grin now, as Gus’s face went a little red.
“Er, maybe? I don’t know yet,” he glanced over to another table and group of people a little older than them were sitting and talking. “I think I’ve made an impression.”
“Then put in a request,” Ivy added like it was the most obvious thing in the world, and Gus went even redder.
“I can’t do that!” he hissed. “It’s too soon!”
He frantically looked around for something to change the subject, and Ivy explained what was happening to Jen.
“The Rúnach Hold sent over forces to help fortifications after the raid. Bellows here wants to transfer, but he’s being shy.”
“Why?” Jen asked, “They’d probably be glad to have you.”
Gus hid his face in his hands. “It’s so stupid,” he groaned. “I know it’s stupid.”
Ivy rolled her eyes, but it’s less irritated and more endearing. “Jen’s right, they’d be glad to have you.”
“What if it turns out to be not what I thought?” he asked a little desperately, and Ivy had a quick answer.
“Then you transfer again.”
“Hey, I try new things that fail all the time,” Jen reassured. “It’s really not that bad.”
Gus nodded, and quickly changed the subject. “So, you two have been in the forest all day. Did you see anything we should know about?”
“Well…” Jen thought, “apparently the weird grasshoppers are desirable to Fae. We met one.”
Gus stared, almost dropping the spoon he was holding. “You WHAT?!”
Jen tried to giggle. “We met a Fae thing. It was about as crazy as it sounds.”
“It was, something,” Ivy agreed.
“What did it look like?” Gus asked.
“Like a big shadow with pearly eyes,” Jen recalled. “It had really long fingers.”
“It was weird,” Ivy finished.
“I bet you wanted to stab it,” Gus teased, his annoying grin back.
“Only if it stabbed us first.”
“She was really brave,” Jen stated, “walked right up to it.”
“I would have been more likely to fight it if it got bad,” Ivy assured. “Not that I think we were in any real danger. Unless we didn’t hand over the grasshopper, but what do we know?”
“Oh yeah,” Gus was thinking out loud. “You and your magic that seems to be able to predict things.”
“I wish!” Ivy snorted. “All I know is if someone’s in immediate danger.”
Gus suddenly jabbed Ivy in the ribs. “Not going to notice that she called you brave?”
Ivy choked and shoved him. “Will you stop it!?”
Jen raised her eyebrows and smiled at them, which didn’t go unnoticed by Gus.
“Are you sure? Because I think you like it.”
“I swear to whatever you deem holy I will kick you in the face Gus Graham.”
“Guys,” Jen intoned.
“What?” Ivy and Gus asked at the same time and looked at Jen.
“Our food’s here.”
A very amused waitstaff member* was looking at them, holding their food.
Ivy coughed and accepted her meal with a word, while Gus smiled at them pleasantly.
“Thank you,” he said, having recovered perfectly.
Jen couldn’t help but smile as she blew over her soup. “How long have you two known each other?”
Ivy raised her eyebrows to the ceiling, trying to recall exactly. “A while, elven years right?”
“On and off,” Gus agreed, “We met when I was thirteen and you were, what, seventeen?”
“I apprenticed with his father for a few months,” Ivy explained. “We lost contact for a while, stuff happened, I came back a couple of years later for a few months. We lost contact again. Didn’t properly meet again until a year after he graduated from the Guard.”
“Hold on,” Gus interrupted. “We were in the Guard at the same time, remember?”
“We were in different years and didn’t talk. It doesn’t count.” Ivy’s voice was hostile, and Gus dropped that topic.
“Yeah, we’ve known each other for ages.”
“That’s really cool,” Jen came in. “Learning about the Guard is my brother’s newest hobby. He keeps talking about it, but I think it’s a temporary interest. We have that in common.”
“Let’s hope it stays temporary,” Ivy muttered bitterly, and Gus winced.
“That was a little blunt there Paris,” he admonished, “But, yeah, the Guard’s not for everyone.”
“Why not?”
“It can be…” Gus blew out his cheeks and looked at Ivy. Ivy seemed disinclined to add to the conversation, so Gus carried on. “It can be a bit elitist. The idea that everyone can be at the same level with the exact same amount of training it nice, but flawed. There, is a favourites system, as much as they would deny it and the atmosphere is a bit more, competitive.”
“Basically,” Ivy decided to chime in. “If you don’t fit then it doesn’t work.”
“But,” Gus was quick to add, “if he really wants to, then the Guard will have him. Just, make sure he knows what he’s getting into.”
“Huh, I’ll be sure to tell him,” Jen noted.
“Enough about the Guard,” Ivy waved off. “What’s the plan for tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow?” Jen thought about it. “Well, we could either go back to where we went today or go deeper? Deeper is more dangerous, but if we go back we may be able to find more of those grasshoppers.”
“And potentially run into more Fae,” Ivy added before shoving a spoonful of food in her mouth.
“Or, if you’re unlucky, Anti,” Gus added, and Ivy turned slowly to face him.
“Then I will kick him in the gonads and run.”
Jen stiffened when they called the Enemy by his nickname. “M-maybe we should just go back to where we went before.”
“That sounds like a good idea,” surprisingly, Ivy was chuckling, a little amused by Jen. “We won’t run into him, at least, it’s ridiculously unlikely. The Western Forest is huge!”
“Back it is,” Jen decided. “We should grab that Fire Star on the way back.”
“We can do that. Hopefully we won’t bump into any more Fae. I don’t know how well stabbing one will go down.”
Jen chuckled nervously.” Yeah, hopefully,” something occurred to Jen. “Actually Gus, have you seen anything weird or glowy on your patrols around here?”
“Glowy?” Gus thought about it, “I saw a purple heather like thing that was glowing on the main road to the Roosts.”
“Cool!” Jen smiled, “We’ll check that out as well.”
Ivy nodded in agreement through a mouthful of bread.
“Mrow” came from under the table, and Gus jumped as the cat wound his way around Gus’s boots.
“Ah!” he yanked his feet back in surprise. Ivy almost spat out her bread from laughing as Gus peered warily under the table. “Where did the cat come from?”
Jen sighed. “Sorry, he’s… like that.”
“Mrrrm,”
“I think his head is itchy,” Jen informed.
Gus looked at Ivy for a second, who shrugged at him. Cautiously he reached down and petted the cat.
The cat was annoyed until Gus started scratching, then he tolerated it.
“I swear that idiot can teleport,” Jen sighed, and Ivy laughed.
“I could almost say the same about Otto!”
“Oh yeah,” Gus realised that he was missing. “Where is that trickster with wings?”
“With her cart,” Ivy nodded to Jen, and Gus frowned.
“Since when did you let him that far out of your sight?”
Ivy just shrugged and ate another spoonful of stew.
Jen could see the cat staring expectantly at her stew. “No,” she said firmly, and Ivy snorted.
“I suppose some things are just universal.”
“Mrrrm,” the cat protested.
“No.”
“Mowrrr”
“The spices are bad for you.”
“Mew.”
“…fine,” Jen hands him a small chunk of chicken.
“At least Otto doesn’t trick me into giving him food,” Ivy noted. “He just steals it out of the bowl.”
“Which is disgusting by the way,” Gus noted, nose wrinkling.
“Snort stew, now with 50% more Raven Beak!” Jen laughed.
“It adds flavour!” Ivy grinned, and Gus made a disgusted face, which makes them laugh harder.
“Well, I’m full,” Jen declared. “Want to head back to the barracks?”
“Sounds good to me,” Ivy finished her stew, and Gus down the last of his pottage. “Let’s go.”
Author’s Note: So, Gáire Roosts, going off of the Outpost Overhaul posts from, a while ago, I think. I assume the ground based building would be stables and a some message receiving/admin for those who don’t have time to go up into the trees to deal with stuff. And Gus has, by now, put in a notice for the Hold, then the Bastion was attacked, poor boy.
Also Em you are too sweet, you’re the one who fleshed out the vague ideas we had, and thank you for coming up with this idea in the first place! I love it so much!
Bard’s Note: Yep, that’s basically how I imagined the Roosts! Although I also figured a smithy or something would also be on the ground, because that’s a lot of heavy metal things to haul into a tree house, and also fire plus trees probably equals BAD. Meanwhile, I feel like poor Gus is going through the existential crisis of choosing a college or something. “I wanna go here, no wait actually I wanna go here, no wait-” XD
And you better watch it or you’re gonna turn these author’s notes into an endless loop of mutual appreciation because this au wouldn’t have gotten anywhere near the state it is now without support from people like you guys so TAKE THE BIG PREESH!
Author’s Note: Second part of the trip in the Western Forest with Ivy and @marginmaster87’s Jen. Also, fair point at the end of the last part from our dear Bard. Didn’t consider that. Now a full two weeks after the Gáire Roosts raid and that time frame will remain the same for the rest of the RP
Bard’s Note: Part 1 can be found here. Thanks again to @theshapeshifter100 for writing these up! You never cease to amaze me with your passion for this little AU I’ve made. Once again, I’ve added a cut for length. I’ve recently been working on puzzling together a few timeline things based on where certain Watchers have been and travel times, so I can tell you that they would have set off from Fort Conchúr on the 29th, stopped for the day at the lake and waited for a boat to take them in the morning (based on how you said that bit took a while), took one day to get across the lake (the boats would drop them off at Monacoil), one day to ride southwest and find a place to cross the the Runach River, and most likely arrived on the forest border on early March 31st! Thankfully, the summer fog doesn’t kick off for another month, otherwise the travel time would have been a LOT worse.
The two of them slept well that night and got ready to go just after dawn. Firefly followed Ivy to Jen’s cart, where she was tightening the straps on Ford.
“Oh hey!” Jen noticed Ivy and co. “Ready to head out?”
“Ready to go!” Ivy agreed. Firefly was in full tack and carrying saddlebags, while Otto was perched on her head. She didn’t seem to mind.
The trip to the Western Forest took a few days, especially with getting a boat across Lake Glas. When they were within a mile of the forest border Jen pulled to the side of the road. Ivy followed her, bringing Firefly alongside the cart.
“I’ll hide the cart here,” Jen explained. “No real way to bring it into the woods, and I don’t want to leave it at the edge.”
“That makes sense,” Ivy commented, “There’s no space for it,” the tracks inside the forest were a lot narrower than the roads.
Jen unhooked Ford from the cart and changed his tack to ride him. “You should get a snack while I do this, it’ll only be a minute.”
Ivy leaned back in her saddle and went through her saddle bags. High above the group Otto was wheeling, but a whistle from Ivy brought him back down.
“Good boy,” she smiled and gave him something red from her bag. He flew up into a nearby tree to eat it, while Firefly lowered her head to graze and Ivy took a swig of water from her skin. “Is your cat coming?” she asked Jen.
“Depends on him, really,” Jen responded, not looking up. As if on cue, the scraggly cat padded out from the cart and looked at Jen expectantly. “Guess that’s a yes.”
“Alright,” Ivy took another drink. “Almost done there?”
“Yep! Let’s head out!” she mounted Ford, and her cat hopped on right behind her, looking as dignified as he possibly could, which wasn’t much.
Ivy called for Otto to come and they all headed off.
The road slowly became narrower and more shaded as the grassland became bushes, then small tress, then finally the trees towered over them. It could almost have been mistaken for night if there wasn’t the occasional dapple of sunlight.
Jen looked at all the trees they pass, eyes adjusted to the gloom.
“Hmmm… apples, oaks, maples…”
“Looking for anything in particular?” Ivy squinted at the trees, recognizing most of them.
“Anything weird. Like… glowing, or an odd colour. Even if it’s a magic thing you recognize, it’s still helpful.”
Ivy nodded, looking around and trusting Firefly to stick to the path. She kept an eye on Otto, since ravens were notoriously intelligent. She figured that he would let her know if he spotted something unusual.
Jen suddenly gasped and yelled. “SOURWOOD!”
“Sourwood?” Ivy asked, confused as Jen rode up to a tree that frankly, looked exactly the same as every tree in the area.
“Oh my gosh! This stuff is nowhere! This is great!”
Confused, Ivy nudged Firefly to catch up with Jen and looked at the tree. It looked, like a tree. She might be missing something in the low light.
“What’s so special about it?” she asked.
Jen picked off a shoot, saving it for a graft later. “The blooms make excellent honey, you make them into a jam too, and the leaves are a laxative. The shoots are used for something too… arrow shafts I think? Anyway the important part is that it grows in mountain climates. This may help people keep bees in House Jameson and Marvin. And the arrows too, I guess. The wood is also pretty good from what I’ve heard.”
Ivy’s head reeled from the dump of information, and one thing stuck out.
“If it’s supposed to be in the mountains, why is it here?” Ivy paused, and remembered where she was. “Never mind. This forest makes no sense, why would it stick to species from its natural habitat?”
“Yeah, I guess the magic helped it grow. I’ll try to find more, but this is a really good sign.”
“So, what? It’s a sign of a healthy forest? Even though it’s in the ‘wrong’ forest?” Ivy felt uncomfortably out of her depth.
“No-well, yes. It means the forest can support non-native, out of season plants and keep them healthy. So there may be really exotic stuff here that’s kept healthy by the magic. If we can grow that stuff outside the danger zone, we’ll really be in business.”
Ivy hummed in though. “Makes you wonder if you can plant plants from outside the kingdom here.”
“Oooo, good point!” Jen looked around excitedly, as though those plants would spring from the ground.
“Maybe for another day,” Ivy intervened before she got too distracted. “We’ve found one thing, shall we keep going?”
“Yep!”
They trudged through the trees a little more. Time seemed somewhat elastic, seeming to stretch forever yet barely passing as they searched. The lack of sunlight did not help, as there was no way to tell how high or low in the sky the sun was.
Above them Otto suddenly croaked and dove for something in the undergrowth. Irritated, Ivy shouted after him.
“We’re not hunting Otto!”
The raven croaked again and didn’t come back up.
“Damn bird. Hold on,” Ivy pulled Firefly to a stop and dismounted. With one hand on her knife she stepped though the undergrowth. Otto, being a raven, had found something shiny, like she had actually hoped he would.
“Jen!” she called back to the track. “I’ve found something!”
She could hear Jen dismounting and she crouched by the flower, poking it with a stick. It was difficult to see exactly what it was at first, but the red flowers were visible, and recognizable.
“I think it’s a Fire Star!” she called over.
“Oh cool!” Jen had made her way over. “I’ve heard of these, what do they do again?”
“Poison mostly. The leaves are bad from what I remember,” Ivy had only read about these under Mage Irnas, who was not known for sticking to one subject for long. “Although I think the petals can be used.”
“Nice!” Jen finished up the quick sketch she’d been drawing while Ivy was talking. “Is it rare?”
“Enough,” Ivy wracked her brain for the faint memory. “It doesn’t grow well outside of forests, something about the soil, I can’t remember.”
Jen hummed and closed her notebook. “Alright, I got a decent drawing. We can leave it for now,” Jen paused, before standing up and looking away.
Ivy had been trying to shoo Otto away from the flower, and looked up when she realised Jen hadn’t left.
“Are you okay over there?”
“Thought I heard something,” Jen responded quietly. “Let’s keep going.”
Otto flew to Ivy’s shoulder as she looked around. So far she couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary, but she kept her hand on her knife hilt as she made her way back to Firefly.
“Could just have been a Fae at worst. I would be surprised if Anti’s forces were this close to the road.”
“Ok,” Jen wasn’t too convinced, but then her cat trotted up from the other direction, clearly proud of himself. “Hmmm?” she hummed questioningly
“Or, it could have been your Fae,” Ivy was a little amused by it, pulling Firefly away from the cat just in case.
The cat spat out a grasshopper by Jen’s feet, much to her joy.
“Hmph, thanks.”
“Mow!”
“Fae my-hey!” Jen bent down and picked it up. “This thing is glowing!”
“We are racking these up,” Ivy commented, “Do you know what this one is?”
Jen turned it over in her hands, inspecting it. “No idea. But look, the blood is silver. Otherwise it looks just like a normal one, except… wow it’s big…”
“Huh. If you don’t know it, and I definitely have never seen it. Then I would guess it’s either rare or not well documented. Silver blooded giant grasshopper,” Ivy proposed, rolling the name around her mouth. “Doesn’t seem too catchy of a name,” she decided. “Do you have anywhere to put it?”
“Yeah, I have a little bag,” Jen wrapped the insect in a piece of buckskin and put it in her saddle bags. “How about Moonblood Grasshopper?”
“That sounds better,” Ivy agreed with the name.
Jen giggled a little self consciously. “Thanks,” she then squinted at something behind Ivy. “Is that… do you see anyone over there?”
The forest had fallen quiet.
Ivy’s hand went for her sword hilt, which hung from Firefly’s saddle, and looked behind her. It was possible, although she wasn’t certain.
“Stay behind me,” she instructed.
“O-okay,” Jen’s cat’s fur was on end, but he didn’t appear ready to attack and Jen shifted behind Ivy.
“You there!” Ivy called out, seeing a shape there the more she looked. “State your business!”
The shape was tall, looking like a humanish shadow in the gloom with creamy coloured eyes. It stood merely yards away from the group, and spoke.
“I wanted to know your business.”
Ivy narrowed her eyes at it, but didn’t drawn her sword. Otto was hovering overhead, but wasn’t being aggressive.
“Just some curious folks,” she responded warily, fully aware of the rumours of the Fae in the forest. “Now, you?”
“As I stated, I wanted to know your business. That is why I appeared. I noticed you… collecting things. It was curious.”
“Okay, we’re both curious. Has your curiosity been sated?”
The creature hummed a high note, and Ivy was almost certain now that it wasn’t human.
“Not quite,” it came closer, but didn’t seem to step. “You,” it looked past Ivy and right at Jen. “Did the cat bring a small creature to you?”
Jen seemed frozen, struggling to answer. “U-uh…”
Ivy moved slightly, angling herself better in front of Jen. “If it did, what’s it to you?”
The creature, most likely Fae, did not answer, and Jen felt the urge to speak.
“Uh… yeah, he… he did. It’s dead though.”
The Fae’s eyes shone. “I would like it back.”
Ivy’s grip on her sword hilt tightened so much her knuckles when white. She looked over at Jen.
“Did you get a sketch of it?” she asked quietly.
“No,” she whispered back,” but… the blood is still on the buckskin.”
Ivy thought about it for a minute. “If we give it back,” she addressed the Fae, “will you leave us alone?”
“If that is the condition,” it responded.
“Ok!” Jen clumsily unwrapped the grasshopper in her hurry to get this over with.
“Alright,” Ivy held her hand out to Jen behind her. “I’ll take it over. Otto, stay here,” the raven croaked in acknowledgement, and Jen handed the grasshopper over.
Ivy let of her sword, moving her hand instead to the hilt of her knife at her waist. With the grasshopper in one hand she walked over to the stranger. Firefly nickered behind her uneasily, but Ivy kept walking.
She reached a point halfway between Jen and the stranger, and placed the grasshopper on the ground before stepping back.
“Here you go.”
It floated forward to it and picked it up with it’s long shadowy fingers, blinking slowly. Then it vanished in a heartbeat, as though it had never been there.
“We… should probably go,” Jen suggested, “It’s getting late.”
The day had indeed vanished, although they hadn’t gotten to the forest until early afternoon.
“We should,” Ivy agreed, feeling some relief. Her magic hadn’t activated during the whole thing though, so she doubted that that they were ever in much danger.
Despite saying they should go however, Ivy crouched down to look at where the Fae had vanished. The grasshopper was still there, but the silver blood had vanished without a trace.
“Okay, time to go,” she stood up rapidly and walked quickly back to Firefly.
“What? What happened?” Jen asked, wondering what had caused Ivy’s alarm.
“The grasshopper is still there, but the blood’s gone,” Ivy explained. “I assume it was needed for, something.”
“Weird. Cool!” Jen switched emotions quickly. “I wonder if he would be upset if I took it again…”
Ivy stared at her in surprise. “How about we not find out? You got a good enough look for a sketch, right?”
“Yeah. Now we have a choice: we could ride back to my cart, or we could make for that Outpost that’s near here.”
“I suppose that depends if you’re comfortable leaving your cart where it is overnight,” Ivy tilted her head to the side in thought. “Duilintinn’s pretty safe, but there are still some bad eggs.”
“True,” Jen had hummed in thought and sighed. “I’d hate to ask, but could Otto watch it? I don’t think I could make this cat do anything.”
“Mow,” the cat responded in what sounded like a definite negative.
“I can’t guarantee it,” Ivy looked at the raven, who tilted his head back at her from his perch. In truth, part of her felt uncomfortable at the idea of him being so far away, but he was an adult bird. “What do you say Otto?”
Otto tilted his head the other way, croaked once, and flew back the way they came. Ivy swallowed and turned to Jen.
“Outpost it is.”
“Nice!”
They quickly set off in the direction of the nearest Outpost.
Author’s Note: Sourwood, Fire Star, and the Moonblood Grasshopper all have profiles that will be far more accurate and comprehensive than what we made up for the RP.
Bard’s Note: The profiles for these plants and animals can be found here. Don’t let these peeps shortchange themselves; they came up with the ideas for them in the first place! There’s also a few more profiles in my drafts for other magical plants and animals that come up later in the RP that I haven’t gotten around to nicely writing up yet. I’ll make sure they get queued up before the next RP write up gets posted ;)
