We are sweeping nearer and nearer to the edge of the waterfall, and the flow of time that will carry us cascading into the new year, ready or not. Now is the time to craft your finest resolutions, and then post them as fiction. Or… are they? Perhaps you can prompt a year in advance, and twist it to your benefit. If you are very clever, indeed, you can steer over the fall and into the torrent without capsizing all your good intentions. Plan now, for preparation brings…
| Push | Rock | Catch |
| Padre | Despite the unorthodox ingredients, the pie was delicious. | Fiona Grey |
| Cedar Sanderson | A flamenco harpist | Leigh Kimmel |
| Fiona Grey | The classroom came alive with each lesson…unfortunately. | Becky Jones |
| nother Mike | And they lived happily ever after, little knowing that they were living in a snowglobe… | AC Young |
| AC Young | The first north wind of the season always brought with it cold air and the first snows of winter. | Padre |
| Becky Jones | Spitting fire and shedding fur, the small demon rampaged through the house. | nother Mike |
| Leigh Kimmel | The kitten knocked on the mousehole door. | Cedar Sanderson |
Prior planning prevents piss-poor performance. Outlining, for some, supports a plot well enough in a story. Pantsers? Well, for them they simply drive on, and hopefully not off the road while it’s dark and stormy. For those who can’t plan ahead, there will always be spare prompts.
| Spare | Number 1 is always odd |
| Spare | I remember the Apollo 13 landing. |
| Spare | There was a frog in the bathtub. |
| Spare | Non-hermaphroditic species should not be rewritten as hermaphrodites. |
| Spare | Black Friday came on Saturday that year… |
Take a prompt. Think about next year. Plan, and then post your prompt response in the comments. See you next week!
More Odds Than Ends 
[…] made topics literally come to life! My prompt went to ‘nother Mike. You can mosey on over to More Odds Than Ends to see what he came up with and check out everybody else’s […]
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Lovely!
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Ouch! You realize, with students wearing VR or augmented reality goggles, we might be able to do this soon? And I have to admit, I suspect it would help with a number of classes, even if it did cause some excitement among the students… oh, my, yes! Fun!
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This week nother Mike sent me: And they lived happily ever after, little knowing that they were living in a snowglobe…
We have an ending, and the prompt suggests the type of story that precedes it.
—
Philip rode up the mountain paths to the wizard’s tower. He had arrayed himself in chainmail, with a longsword sheathed and hanging from his waist.
He was the second son of the Lord of the Northern Marches, and had only recently been made a full knight, with his own coat of arms – his father’s as Lord of the Northern Marches defaced with the bend sinister argent charged with three fleurs-de-lis azure of the second son. His surcoat embroidered with his new arms was stored safely in his baggage carried by his packhorse. His shield was likewise being carried by his packhorse – these roads being safe enough that the weight and inconvenience of bearing it on his left arm wasn’t needed.
He had chosen not to risk his warhorse, but had instead brought only his riding horse and his packhorse.
In age he was a few months shy of his twenty-fifth birthday, and underneath his riding helm could be seen the ends of his brown hair and his blue eyes.
He didn’t have any idea why Kestinel, the wizard, had requested his presence. He knew only that his father had received the missive, and had acquiesced. Kestinel had asked that Philip arrive on this day, and he was now only about an hour away, with plenty of daylight left.
~~
On the other side of the mountains, Aethelthryth, dressed only in the light leather armour of the Rangers of Wesanglia, and carrying her bow, her quiver of arrows and a full pack of supplies on her back, hiked the mountain trails.
Her blond hair was cut shorter than was deemed proper in most civilised lands, and her brown eyes gazed determinedly ahead.
Her presence had been requested by Kestinel at his tower this day, and despite the notice of safe conduct that Kestinel had supplied, she was a little uncomfortable at needing to cross the border into Frankland. She was confident that she could make the tower by nightfall.
~~
Philip rode under the Lily Gate of Kestinel’s tower, and was greeted by Kestinel himself.
“Welcome. You are the first to arrive. You will wish to stable your horses, and then prepare.”
Philip agreed, and proceeded to care for his mounts, before being shown to a guest room in the tower where he would be able to prepare for whatever Kestinel had in mind.
~~
Several hours later Aethelthryth hiked through the Dragon Gate of Kestinel’s tower. Kestinel was also awaiting her.
“Welcome. I assume that you will wish to prepare yourself.”
“Nay. I require only somewhere to deposit that which is superfluous, and I will be ready to be told my task.”
“Very well. I shall so direct my servants.”
~~
Philip entered the Audience Chamber of the wizard at the same time as a young lady, who entered via the opposite door.
Philip had dressed for the occasion, wearing his surcoat over his mail, with his sword at his waist, and his helm in his right arm.
The young lady appeared to be a ranger – ill-disciplined forces that were only of military use in their native forests.
“Welcome once more to you both. I have a task that needs to be carried out, but if prophecy is to be believed, only the pair of you working together will succeed.”
No! There was no way Philip was going to go on a quest with someone as unreliable in combat conditions as a ranger. But before he could say so, an even worse problem arose.
“Wizard, I will not work with an arrogant noble. If that is what you wish me to do, I must decline.”
Her accent! She was from Wesanglia. “And if you think I will go on a quest with a backstabbing Wesanglian, you’re not a wizard!”
“I’d expect nothing else from an arrogant noble, doubly so with the native pride and superiority complex of the Franklander. I can’t work with him.”
Philip was getting really irritated. “And all know that a ranger will run from every difficulty, and any excuse will do.”
The ranger looked to be on the verge of storming out of the chamber. Good! That would force the wizard to give him an acceptable quest partner.
Then, to Philip’s surprise, Kestinel prevented further comment by laughing. “Perfect! Perfect! Exactly what I was hoping for!”
~~
Aethelthryth was furious. She was almost ready to declare that what the wizard wanted was so impossible that there was no point in any further discussion.
Then Kestinel made his laughing announcement. What! It made no sense.
“Prophecy declares that unless the Ruby of Lashtinar is retrieved from the lair of the immortal dragon Flaviarus, this world will come to an end and all will die. But only a questing pair that are quadruply opposed will succeed.”
Aethelthryth silently enumerated the opposites in her head: female and male; peasant and noble; Westanglian and Franklander; and ranger and noble. Opposite sexes, opposite statuses, on opposite sides in battles for centuries, independent foot fighter opposed with the mounted warrior who fights as one of many.
But… “So what? There must be other pairs that satisfy your prophecy. Pairs that mean I don’t have to travel with him.”
The wizard took a deep breath. “No. Not that could make it here in time. Unless I cast the necessary spell within a month no-one will survive the end of the world.”
“If I were stupid enough to agree,” said the noble in his silly embroidered outfit, “what is the quest?”
As if she would give him the choice of abandoning the quest. She’d do that herself, but it was only polite to hear the wizard out.
“You will need to travel north through the mountains. Two days’ travel will bring you to the remains of the dwarven Kingdom under the Mountains. There Flaviarus has made his home. Deep within the tunnels is his treasure chamber. There amongst the diamonds and sapphires is a ruby, the Ruby of Lashtinar.
“I need you to retrieve the ruby, and return here with it. I will need the ruby and I will need both of your assistance if I am to cast the spell that will save as many of our world’s people as I can.”
“You expect us to risk dragonfire to obtain a mere ruby?”
“No, my dear ranger. This ruby was once owned by Lashtinar, the greatest wizard of his age, and one of the key ingredients of the world-changing spell he developed. It is non-exchangeable. Without it, none of us can survive.”
“And why should we take these risks?”
“Because, knight, your superiors (and hers) have agreed to you attempting this. Honour demands that you at least try.”
Aethelthryth grimaced as she realised the implications of the wizard’s comment. And from his face, the knight liked them as little as she did. To walk away would shame the rangers and shame her people. She wouldn’t do it to them.
“You have won this round wizard. When do we begin?”
“First light tomorrow morning will suffice. I will provision you.”
The noble also signalled his agreement.
“Very well. Now that that little local difficulty has been overcome I shall introduce you both. On my right is Aethelthryth. On my left, Philip.”
~~
Philip entered the courtyard the next morning feeling very irritated. He had been informed that he had to travel on foot, not ride his horse. This meant that he had to carry his shield himself, which he did not want to do outside of combat. He had dressed in mail just in case, but had left his surcoat behind. His sword hung from his waist, and his riding helm graced his head.
Not only this, but he had to travel with a Wesanglian, whom every Franklander knew to be untrustworthy, putting their own interests above anyone else’s. If he wasn’t careful, she would stab him in the back the first chance she got after the quest was over. And if things got too dangerous, she might very well leave him to deal with the danger alone and save her own skin.
The ranger came down to the courtyard soon after, dressed for a jaunt through the woods, not for a dangerous trek through the mountains to a dragon’s lair. He acknowledged her arrival, and then ignored her.
Then, just as the sun poked its disc above the eastern horizon, the wizard exited his tower. He handed both Philip and the ranger packs which supposedly contained enough supplies for their journey there and back again.
“Your goal lies in that direction,” the wizard said, pointing slightly west of north. “The road used to be well travelled, so is wide and relatively flat. But it has not been travelled for some time, so will be somewhat overgrown and ill-maintained.”
Philip said his farewell and marched out into the mountains. The Wesanglian said something in her crude tongue (the first time he’d heard her use it – the wizard responded in the same) and followed him.
~~
“The Lords of the Mountains guide your paths.”
“And the Masters of the Forests protect you and yours,” replied the wizard, showing that he knew the conventions of polite goodbyes. It pleased her that he had the courtesy to use her tongue in giving his response.
Aethelthryth headed out into the mountains, following the noble.
Honestly! Mail? When hiking for long distances mail was heavy, and when the biggest threat was wild animals mail wasn’t needed. Seriously, cloth armour was enough in these circumstances, and a gambeson was heavy enough that the additional weight of mail over the top was just foolish.
A helm in the woods? When hearing the animals intending to ambush travellers as early as possible was so important?
And that shield was just silly. Not that she thought that a shield was foolish – for anyone planning to fight hand-to-hand a shield made sense. But a large horseman’s shield? That was far too large for this mission, a much smaller one would make much more sense.
Still, at least he was heading in the right direction. Nobles, particularly Franklander nobles, were not particularly known for having a good sense of direction.
About half an hour into the hike, the pair came across the promised wide road, and the noble turned north rather than south. She would have been impressed were the sun not clearly visible, and even a noble must know that the sun is to north’s right in the morning.
She made no attempt to engage the noble in conversation. In the wilds one’s best defence against wild animals was to hear them coming before you saw them. That required travelling as quietly as possible. It was a pity that the noble didn’t seem to be trained in this, for he was making too much noise for her liking, just clomping along the road.
She would have been happy that he wasn’t trying to speak to her, and break her concentration on their surroundings, but she didn’t think that was why he wasn’t doing so. She thought that he was choosing to ignore her, just as he had done back in the wizard’s courtyard.
A noise. It came from her right. Then another. As she listened, she put it together. A creature was padding through the trees to their right. Aethelthryth readied her bow, and withdrew an arrow from her quiver, but didn’t draw it. Yet.
She continued to listen, tracking the creature as best as she could with her ears alone, but she couldn’t shoot accurately at something she couldn’t see.
Then a flash of colour. There it was. She drew her bow, and then released the string. The arrow flew true, and struck deep into the side of a mountain wolf, who had just leapt from the trees onto the path between the pair. By the grace of the Forest Masters it looked as if her arrow had hit the wolf in the heart. It collapsed, noisily, onto the road, dead.
But it was rare for mountain wolves to hunt alone. She extracted another arrow from her quiver, and continued to listen.
~~
Philip heard a noise behind him. He turned around to see what foolish thing the ranger had done.
Instead he saw a dead wolf, an arrow to the heart. Behind it the ranger had her bow ready and an arrow in hand.
He couldn’t believe that she would try to kill him now, but it looked like she was considering it. He drew his sword and placed his shield between them.
“Quiet!” she hissed.
He suddenly realised that she wasn’t thinking of killing him, but was listening for further wolves. He didn’t know why. The wolves of the plains tended to be solo hunters, as packs hunting the deer were ruthlessly put down to protect the nobles’ hunting.
Then a sound behind him. He whirled around to face another wolf. It leapt, and he took the jump on his shield, before stabbing around it with his naked sword. He withdrew his blade, and it fell to the ground in front of him, to be replaced by another. He dispatched the second wolf as he had done the first.
No further wolves were ahead of him on the road. He checked both that he had stabbed. One was still alive, so he put it out of his misery.
He turned around to see three more dead wolved behind him, all killed by arrows. Two between him and the ranger, and one behind her.
She was still listening, with another arrow in her hand. He waited until she relaxed and put the arrow back in her quiver. Only then did he kneel down and clean his sword on the pelt of one of the wolves, before sheathing it once more.
“Do you want to take the lead for the next section?” he asked. Better to have her in front of him where he could keep an eye on her, he realised. Her apparent ability to sense dangerous beasts which he was ignorant of was purely secondary, not really that important a reason at all.
She nodded and moved past him and the wolves. He followed at a suitably safe distance.
~~
Aethelthryth was relieved that she was allowed to go first. It was easier for her to listen to the noises around her with the noisy noble behind her than the other way around.
She kept alert as they continued through the mountains. The road gradually got worse and worse as they got ever closer to the dragon’s realm. Fortunately the wild animals seemed to be staying well away.
Eventually her mind slipped back to the wolf attack. The knight wasn’t exactly alert, but he’d dealt adequately with two of the pack. As long as he wasn’t leapt on out of the trees he should be capable of coping with his share of the wild animals on the route.
As the sun started to drop towards the western peaks, Aethelthryth came across a suitable camping site. She looked around before turning to the knight.
“This looks a good place to stop.”
He agreed, and the pair set about collecting sticks for a fire. When that was burning merrily, Aethelthryth agreed to take the first watch.
The knight lay down on the ground and fell asleep.
The night was noisy, but with the normal noises of night in the mountain woods. She kept listening for the sounds of a night predator, but none could be heard.
She kept track of time by the passage of the stars and the moon. At about midnight, she shook the knight awake. Once he was up, she lay down and fell asleep.
~~
Philip awoke. He was relieved that the ranger hadn’t slit his throat while he slept – he would have kept watch the entire night if he could have managed it, but knew that neither of them could stay up all night and still be able to function come the morning.
It was a boring watch. The woods were quiet, with only the occasional noise to mitigate the dullness.
The gradual lightening of the eastern horizon was the signal that his watch was coming to an end. He started to walk around the clearing to loosen his joints up.
When dawn broke, he woke the ranger up.
“A good watch?”
“Quiet. Very quiet.”
She smiled at that. He didn’t know why.
The fire had almost burned itself out. They extinguished it, and made it safe – burning the woods down behind them wasn’t on Philip’s list of things to do.
Then it was time to head out. By unspoken agreement, the ranger took the lead, with Philip taking rearguard.
~~
Aethelthryth took the lead, concentrating on the noises around them. The knight was still making too much noise behind her, but it was more distracting when he was in front.
He really was not very observant. A quiet watch, indeed. She smiled at the memory. If you knew what to listen for, the woods at night always had sounds to be heard.
She took the lead all day. The road remained clear, but the woods came close to blocking it completely in places. Despite occasional noises, the wildlife stayed clear.
Mid-afternoon, something imperceptible changed. She knew, without needing to be told that they were now in the territory of the former Kingdom under the Mountains.
About an hour later, the pair passed out from under the woods into a clearing before the mountains. The entrance to the dwarven tunnels was clearly visible.
“It’s late. Shall we rest in the woods tonight, and head down the tunnels tomorrow?”
It was a good plan, and so Aethelthryth agreed to it.
Since they had stopped earlier, there was time for the pair to converse before the fire, but the knight merely spoke a few platitudes, and made it clear that he really wasn’t interested.
As with the previous night, she took the first watch.
This time the woods were quiet. It felt lonely standing watch without the normal night-time sounds. It was as if the dragon had scared away all the expected woodland wildlife.
At about midnight she woke the knight for his watch.
~~
Philip took the second watch again.
He had thought that the previous night was quiet, but this night was even quieter. There was no sign of the dragon this night, much to his relief.
As dawn broke he woke the ranger up.
They dealt with the remains of the fire, before preparing for the tunnels to come. The wizard had given them torches that were enchanted to not go out as long as the holder wanted the light.
This time Philip took the lead. Tunnels were a very different scenario to the woods, much more constrained. His weaponry was better suited to defence from the front than to striking past another from the rear rank.
Legend had it that the Kingdom under the Mountains was once a light and joyous place, but now the regularly replaced torches were all gone, and the laughter of the dwarves a distant memory. Without the wizard’s torches the pair would have blundered around in the darkness until they found their way by blind luck back to the surface once more.
By the light of their torches they were able to make their way through the tunnels with some safety. There were pits hacked into the floor on occasion as defensive features, but the torchlight enabled these to be spotted and these were either bypassed or the party retreated and another way sought.
At every junction, Philip tried to choose the main tunnel down – the wizard said they needed to find the dragon’s treasure chamber deep underground – so he wanted to head down, but using tunnels wide enough for a dragon to use.
Several hours in, Philip carefully approached an arched doorway at the end of a tunnel. Then he stopped and gulped.
The archway opened into the corner of a much larger chamber. It was the chamber they were looking for. He could see piles of various jewels, and gold, silver and jewelled objects. He could also see part of a beast lying on the horde – the dragon was home!
“Don’t dawdle. Come on in!” came a low voice from inside the chamber.
~~
Aethelthryth stopped dead when she heard the voice from ahead. The dragon was in! And he knew they were here!
The knight started walking again, and crept through the doorway.
She stayed where she was. Perhaps the knight could distract the dragon, and then she could look for the ruby in secret.
“Both of you, please. I don’t often get visitors. There’s no need to be scared. Yet.”
That wasn’t going to work. The dragon seemed to know she was here as well.
Aethelthryth followed the knight into the chamber. She was astonished at the wealth on display. There were piles of everything valuable, all over the floor. In the centre of the floor was a large pile of jewels, and lounging on it was a dragon.
The dragon was the largest beast she had ever seen. It had red and orange scales, and seemed to glow with an internal light, as a result of which the entire chamber was lit.
Aethelthryth stopped alongside the knight, on his left.
“Now we are all here, I think introductions are in order. I am Flaviarus, the Lord under the Mountains by right of conquest. You are?”
“I am Philip of the Northern Marches.”
“I am Aethelthryth, ranger of Wesanglia.”
“Interesting. A ranger of the land to the east of mine and a noble of the land to the west. Has that meddler, Kestinel, sent you?”
Aethelthryth and the knight shared glances, but neither answered.
This seemed to amuse the dragon. “He has, hasn’t he? What has he asked you to steal from my hoard?”
She answered, “The Ruby of Lashtinar.”
“A gem that Lashtinar himself entrusted to my care. Has the end of the world approached already?”
“We’re told that it has,” answered the knight.
“Perhaps, perhaps not. He was never that impressive as an apprentice, but he is the best wizard mankind has produced since Lashtinar – even if even now he isn’t half the wizard Lashtinar was.”
Aethelthryth stayed quiet. She didn’t know what to say. The dragon seemed to know more about what was going on than she did.
“Still, perhaps the meddler’s right. It would be excessively cruel of me to incinerate the pair of you without testing your worthiness first.
“Hmmm. How should I test you? A test of strength would be cruel – you would both fail. A test of magic is pointless – I can smell that neither of you have any. So a test of wits. Yes, a test of wits.”
“How do we pass this test?” asked the knight. She was also interested in the answer.
“I set you a number of riddles. Answer enough without getting any wrong, and you can have the ruby.
“First: I rule the night sky, but sometimes travel in reverse. What am I?”
“Jupiter.”
“What?” she asked.
“Jupiter. The planet named after the king of the gods. Like all planets it sometimes goes retrograde.”
“Correct! And well explained, though that gains you no bonus in this test.
“Second: I dress in blue and orange, and fish for my supper. What am I?”
Aethelthryth thought for a bit. Fishermen never dressed in blue and orange, so it must be a beast or a bird. There were birds that fished. Didn’t one of them have feathers of the stated colours? Yes. “A kingfisher.”
“That’s a bird?” asked the knight.
“Yes, a blue and orange one that catches fish.”
“Correct! Again, no bonus for the explanation.
“Third: I come not out in the dark, yet fear light. I am an excellent mimic. What am I?”
Aethelthryth looked across at the knight, not really sure how to start answering that one. He looked across at her. Then he laughed.
“Look,” he pointed behind him.
As she looked, she noticed his shadow move, and groaned.
“A shadow,” they said in unison.
“Correct! Fourth: A winged terror, armed with fire and claw. A lover of wealth and beauty, and a collector of renown. What am I?”
Aethelthryth looked across at the knight. She smiled, for this riddle wasn’t difficult. He smiled back.
“A dragon,” they said in unison.
“Correct! And you have passed the test of wits. You may retrieve the Ruby of Lashtinar.”
“If you will permit the query, which is the Ruby of Lashtinar?” asked the knight.
The dragon laughed. “Of course! You’ve never seen it have you? It’s over there,” the dragon indicated the direction with his head, “on top of those sapphires.”
The knight walked carefully through the treasure chamber, and carefully picked up the specified gem, a ruby that only just fit within his right fist.
No sooner had the Ruby of Lashtinar been obtained than the dragon spoke again. “To ensure your swiftest exit from my domain, I will direct you along the shortest route to the main gate. To ensure you take nothing else of value to me on your way out, I will escort you from behind.”
~~
Philip wasn’t sure what he felt about the dragon’s latest comments. A swifter exit from the tunnels than backtracking their way in was good, but the complete lack of trust in a knight’s integrity, let alone a noble’s integrity irritated him. If the dragon was only following them because of a Wesanglian’s reputation (although he didn’t think any longer that this particular Wesanglian was anywhere near the worst of her kind) then that wouldn’t be too bad, but he didn’t think that the dragon was being that discriminatory.
The dragon directed the pair to a different entrance. Philip didn’t have time to put the ruby in his right hand into a pack before they were told to set off on the journey back to the surface.
The dragon gave clear and concise directions, always before they reached the next junction, so there was never any excuse for the party to stop.
Following the dragon’s instructions they also avoided all the pits that they had run into on the way down.
After about two hours of travel through the tunnels under the mountains, they re-appeared under the sun and sky.
“The sun is quite low. I’ll give you permission to stay in my territory tonight, but I expect you to leave as soon as possible thereafter. If you stay another night in my lands your lives will be forfeit.”
The dragon flew off without requiring a response.
“Shall we camp where we camped last night?” Philip asked.
She agreed, and the pair proceeded into the woods. Once they had found the campsite once more, Philip put the ruby in his pack.
There was still some time to kill after the campsite had been set up and the night’s fire lit. So Philip and the ranger engaged in conversation. Philip thought it was only polite to get to know his quest partner better, and tonight was as good a time as any to start the process. He had wasted enough nights in refusing to converse with her.
~~
Aethelthryth took the first watch again.
It was quiet, quieter than the previous night. It seemed as if with the dragon on the prowl all the wildlife was not venturing out.
The complete absence of clouds meant that the stars and moon shone brightly, and she passed the time, given that there was no noise to keep track of, reviewing the constellations.
At midnight she shook Philip awake for his watch.
~~
Philip found his watch even more boring than the previous night’s. Nothing seemed to be happening.
It was a relief when the growing light signalled the coming of the next day.
At dawn he woke Aethelthryth.
The pair cleared up the camp, and then set off once more.
~~
Aethelthryth led the way once more.
About an hour into their trek, something imperceptible told her that they had exited the dragon’s lands.
They kept hiking all day, the sounds of animals in the woods growing ever stronger, though nothing sought to come close to the travellers.
Philip followed her. She was occasionally tempted to engage him in conversation, but refrained. In potentially dangerous wild areas such behaviour was not sensible.
When the pair reached their first campsite once more, the pair stopped for the night.
~~
Philip assisted in starting the night’s fire, and then the pair conversed once more.
A few minutes in, Aethelthryth enquired as to Philip’s plans for the future.
“Quite simple really. I’ll soon turn twenty-five. On my birthday I’ll get married.”
“To whom?” she enquired.
Silly question, all knew the practice. “Whomever my parents have arranged to be my wife. If I’m lucky I’ll get an heiress, but more likely it’ll be an eldest daughter with a brother or two.”
“You don’t get a choice?”
He couldn’t interpret the tone of her voice. “Of course not! The purpose of marriage is to strengthen the wider family by gaining additional land where possible, and alliances where not. Only someone with an ability to take the long view can select the unions well, and that’s not me yet.”
“And you’re happy with this arrangement?”
“It doesn’t matter. This is what’s best for us, and hence its what’s best for me.”
Aethelthryth shut up, and made it clear that the conversation was now over.
Philip had no idea what the issue was. This was how the nobility had organised their marriages for generations. He’d known that would be his fate on his twenty-fifth birthday since he was twelve. And it was better for him and his brothers than for his sisters. They were available for alliance from their sixteenth birthday, and any that weren’t engaged by their eighteenth birthday were deemed too old. Once they were engaged, they then had to wait until their fiancé reached twenty-five. He’d been probably been engaged without his knowledge for years.
~~
Aethelthryth was furious with herself as she took the first watch once more.
She’d allowed herself to forget that her quest partner was a noble, with a noble’s arrogant perspective on anything and everything. She had actually allowed herself to think that he was a decent young man, perhaps even a suitable match for herself.
But instead he was going to go through a farce of a marriage to some willing victim he didn’t know, just because his family had told him it was a good idea.
And she couldn’t just leave the noble here and head home. The wizard had made it clear that he needed both their help to cast his spell.
She fumed all watch. Unfortunately, no wild animals decided to investigate the camp, so she had nothing to take out her fury on.
At midnight, she shook the noble awake, and went to sleep.
~~
Philip awoke to the sense that something was wrong. Aethelthryth was suddenly distant, though why he had no idea.
There were more noises in the woods this night, but it was still quiet.
He kept alert, but it was not an easy watch.
At dawn, he woke Aethelthryth. She was cold, but the pair worked together to tidy up the camp.
~~
Aethelthryth took the lead once more. She set a fast pace. The sooner they were back at the wizard’s tower, the sooner she could spend time not in the noble’s company.
The noble followed her, as noisy as ever. She wanted to yell at him to quieten down, but there wasn’t a point – nobles weren’t taught how to be anything other than noisy.
She kept her ears on the woods around them, but no wolves decided to attack the party. They’d probably killed enough of the local path on their way north that the rest were giving them a wide berth. A pity – she still needed something to take her feelings out on.
It was nearly a whole day’s hike, but eventually the path to the wizard’s tower appeared. A short walk later, and the wizard was greeting them once more.
The noble fished out the ruby, and handed it over.
“Excellent, excellent. We’ll cast the spell tomorrow.”
Aethelthryth headed up the tower to the room the wizard had assigned to her, and shut herself away for the rest of the day.
~~
Philip watched Aethelthryth head into the tower. He still didn’t know why she wasn’t talking to him anymore.
He engaged the wizard in conversation, but the wizard wasn’t interested in explaining what the morrow’s spell would be like.
All he wrung out of the wizard was a few tales of Kestinel’s time as an apprentice wizard, including a story or two from his time in Flaviarus’ kingdom.
After an evening meal, Philip headed to bed.
~~
The next morning, Aethelthryth headed down to eat breakfast. By the grace of the Forest Masters she was able to get in and out without catching sight of the noble.
But later that morning, when everyone congregated in the wizard’s Spell Chamber, right at the top of the tower, her luck ran out. As required, the noble took his place on the other side of the wizard.
The wizard placed the Ruby of Lashtinar in the centre of the chamber, and directed the pair as to what they needed to do.
Then with a lot of chanting in strange tongues, Kestinel cast his spell.
With a flash of light, the tower vanished.
~~
When vision returned, Philip was inside a building in a winter scene. The wizard was by his side, with Aethelthryth standing on the wizard’s other side.
There was some kind of portal, and through it Philip could see many people.
It took some time, but eventually Philip and his parents found each other.
Over the course of the rest of the day, various explorations were carried out by various psrties. There was a network of portals, all leading to different buildings, all seemingly in the midst of winter, but there was no way to exit the buildings to the snow outside.
The wizard cast many more spells, and ensured that everyone would have all the food and water they needed for as long as they needed them for.
But not all the people of their old world had been transported to their new world. Once all the transferees had been accounted for, Philip’s parents had some bad news for him.
The lady he was intended to marry hadn’t been pulled through to this world by the wizard’s spell. And none of the ladies of the nobility that had been transferred were available – all having been transported with their intended. His forthcoming marriage was off, unless he could find a young lady for himself.
~~
Aethelthryth had found some of her fellow rangers, and was seriously considering heading out to explore the farthest reaches of their new world.
Unfortunately, before she could set off, she had a visitor, her least favourite noble.
They made their way through the standard greetings.
“I’ve received some bad news.”
Aethelthryth didn’t really care how much bad news the noble had received.
“My parents tell me that my fiancée hasn’t come with us, and they’re out of options.”
What a terrible shame. Did he really expect her to care?
“I’ve been forced onto my own resources. I know I’ve said or done the wrong thing, and upset you. I know this is probably the last thing you want to hear, but would you consider my suit?”
Of course … Wait! Before she reflexively turned him down, she considered. When he wasn’t being the arrogant noble, he had been a good companion. And he didn’t seem to be playing that role for the time being.
“I’ll consider it, but I’m not making a final decision yet.”
“Thank you. How do you wish to proceed?”
~~
On Philip’s twenty-fifth birthday, he stood at the altar of the church.
Through the portal at the far end appeared Aethelthryth, flanked by a pair of her fellow rangers. As he caught sight of his intended, his heart leapt in his chest.
One hour later, Philip and Aethelthryth, newly married, made their way back out of the portal.
After the reception, they headed off on their new life together.
~~
Aethelthryth and Philip lived happily ever after. No-one ever figured out that Kestinel had messed up the spell, and rather than transporting them to a new world, had transported them to multiple snow globes in the new world instead.
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[…] Check out more, over at MOTE! […]
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Ah, the kitchen witch and the pastry chef… nice!
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This week nother Mike supplied me with: And they lived happily ever after, little knowing that they were living in a snowglobe…
If we treat that as the ending…
—
Part 1 – Introduction and Heading Out
—
Philip rode up the mountain paths to the wizard’s tower. He had arrayed himself in chainmail, with a longsword sheathed and hanging from his waist.
He was the second son of the Lord of the Northern Marches, and had only recently been made a full knight, with his own coat of arms – his father’s as Lord of the Northern Marches defaced with the bend sinister argent charged with three fleurs-de-lis azure of the second son. His surcoat embroidered with his new arms was stored safely in his baggage carried by his packhorse. His shield was likewise being carried by his packhorse – these roads being safe enough that the weight and inconvenience of bearing it on his left arm wasn’t needed.
He had chosen not to risk his warhorse, but had instead brought only his riding horse and his packhorse.
In age he was a few months shy of his twenty-fifth birthday, and underneath his riding helm could be seen the ends of his brown hair and his blue eyes.
He didn’t have any idea why Kestinel, the wizard, had requested his presence. He knew only that his father had received the missive, and had acquiesced. Kestinel had asked that Philip arrive on this day, and he was now only about an hour away, with plenty of daylight left.
~~
On the other side of the mountains, Aethelthryth, dressed only in the light leather armour of the Rangers of Wesanglia, and carrying her bow, her quiver of arrows and a full pack of supplies on her back, hiked the mountain trails.
Her blond hair was cut shorter than was deemed proper in most civilised lands, and her brown eyes gazed determinedly ahead.
Her presence had been requested by Kestinel at his tower this day, and despite the notice of safe conduct that Kestinel had supplied, she was a little uncomfortable at needing to cross the border into Frankland. She was confident that she could make the tower by nightfall.
~~
Philip rode under the Lily Gate of Kestinel’s tower, and was greeted by Kestinel himself.
“Welcome. You are the first to arrive. You will wish to stable your horses, and then prepare.”
Philip agreed, and proceeded to care for his mounts, before being shown to a guest room in the tower where he would be able to prepare for whatever Kestinel had in mind.
~~
Several hours later Aethelthryth hiked through the Dragon Gate of Kestinel’s tower. Kestinel was also awaiting her.
“Welcome. I assume that you will wish to prepare yourself.”
“Nay. I require only somewhere to deposit that which is superfluous, and I will be ready to be told my task.”
“Very well. I shall so direct my servants.”
~~
Philip entered the Audience Chamber of the wizard at the same time as a young lady, who entered via the opposite door.
Philip had dressed for the occasion, wearing his surcoat over his mail, with his sword at his waist, and his helm in his right arm.
The young lady appeared to be a ranger – ill-disciplined forces that were only of military use in their native forests.
“Welcome once more to you both. I have a task that needs to be carried out, but if prophecy is to be believed, only the pair of you working together will succeed.”
No! There was no way Philip was going to go on a quest with someone as unreliable in combat conditions as a ranger. But before he could say so, an even worse problem arose.
“Wizard, I will not work with an arrogant noble. If that is what you wish me to do, I must decline.”
Her accent! She was from Wesanglia. “And if you think I will go on a quest with a backstabbing Wesanglian, you’re not a wizard!”
“I’d expect nothing else from an arrogant noble, doubly so with the native pride and superiority complex of the Franklander. I can’t work with him.”
Philip was getting really irritated. “And all know that a ranger will run from every difficulty, and any excuse will do.”
The ranger looked to be on the verge of storming out of the chamber. Good! That would force the wizard to give him an acceptable quest partner.
Then, to Philip’s surprise, Kestinel prevented further comment by laughing. “Perfect! Perfect! Exactly what I was hoping for!”
~~
Aethelthryth was furious. She was almost ready to declare that what the wizard wanted was so impossible that there was no point in any further discussion.
Then Kestinel made his laughing announcement. What! It made no sense.
“Prophecy declares that unless the Ruby of Lashtinar is retrieved from the lair of the immortal dragon Flaviarus, this world will come to an end and all will die. But only a questing pair that are quadruply opposed will succeed.”
Aethelthryth silently enumerated the opposites in her head: female and male; peasant and noble; Westanglian and Franklander; and ranger and noble. Opposite sexes, opposite statuses, on opposite sides in battles for centuries, independent foot fighter opposed with the mounted warrior who fights as one of many.
But… “So what? There must be other pairs that satisfy your prophecy. Pairs that mean I don’t have to travel with him.”
The wizard took a deep breath. “No. Not that could make it here in time. Unless I cast the necessary spell within a month no-one will survive the end of the world.”
“If I were stupid enough to agree,” said the noble in his silly embroidered outfit, “what is the quest?”
As if she would give him the choice of abandoning the quest. She’d do that herself, but it was only polite to hear the wizard out.
“You will need to travel north through the mountains. Two days’ travel will bring you to the remains of the dwarven Kingdom under the Mountains. There Flaviarus has made his home. Deep within the tunnels is his treasure chamber. There amongst the diamonds and sapphires is a ruby, the Ruby of Lashtinar.
“I need you to retrieve the ruby, and return here with it. I will need the ruby and I will need both of your assistance if I am to cast the spell that will save as many of our world’s people as I can.”
“You expect us to risk dragonfire to obtain a mere ruby?”
“No, my dear ranger. This ruby was once owned by Lashtinar, the greatest wizard of his age, and one of the key ingredients of the world-changing spell he developed. It is non-exchangeable. Without it, none of us can survive.”
“And why should we take these risks?”
“Because, knight, your superiors (and hers) have agreed to you attempting this. Honour demands that you at least try.”
Aethelthryth grimaced as she realised the implications of the wizard’s comment. And from his face, the knight liked them as little as she did. To walk away would shame the rangers and shame her people. She wouldn’t do it to them.
“You have won this round wizard. When do we begin?”
“First light tomorrow morning will suffice. I will provision you.”
The noble also signalled his agreement.
“Very well. Now that that little local difficulty has been overcome I shall introduce you both. On my right is Aethelthryth. On my left, Philip.”
~~
Philip entered the courtyard the next morning feeling very irritated. He had been informed that he had to travel on foot, not ride his horse. This meant that he had to carry his shield himself, which he did not want to do outside of combat. He had dressed in mail just in case, but had left his surcoat behind. His sword hung from his waist, and his riding helm graced his head.
Not only this, but he had to travel with a Wesanglian, whom every Franklander knew to be untrustworthy, putting their own interests above anyone else’s. If he wasn’t careful, she would stab him in the back the first chance she got after the quest was over. And if things got too dangerous, she might very well leave him to deal with the danger alone and save her own skin.
The ranger came down to the courtyard soon after, dressed for a jaunt through the woods, not for a dangerous trek through the mountains to a dragon’s lair. He acknowledged her arrival, and then ignored her.
Then, just as the sun poked its disc above the eastern horizon, the wizard exited his tower. He handed both Philip and the ranger packs which supposedly contained enough supplies for their journey there and back again.
“Your goal lies in that direction,” the wizard said, pointing slightly west of north. “The road used to be well travelled, so is wide and relatively flat. But it has not been travelled for some time, so will be somewhat overgrown and ill-maintained.”
Philip said his farewell and marched out into the mountains. The Wesanglian said something in her crude tongue (the first time he’d heard her use it – the wizard responded in the same) and followed him.
~~
“The Lords of the Mountains guide your paths.”
“And the Masters of the Forests protect you and yours,” replied the wizard, showing that he knew the conventions of polite goodbyes. It pleased her that he had the courtesy to use her tongue in giving his response.
Aethelthryth headed out into the mountains, following the noble.
Honestly! Mail? When hiking for long distances mail was heavy, and when the biggest threat was wild animals mail wasn’t needed. Seriously, cloth armour was enough in these circumstances, and a gambeson was heavy enough that the additional weight of mail over the top was just foolish.
A helm in the woods? When hearing the animals intending to ambush travellers as early as possible was so important?
And that shield was just silly. Not that she thought that a shield was foolish – for anyone planning to fight hand-to-hand a shield made sense. But a large horseman’s shield? That was far too large for this mission, a much smaller one would make much more sense.
Still, at least he was heading in the right direction. Nobles, particularly Franklander nobles, were not particularly known for having a good sense of direction.
About half an hour into the hike, the pair came across the promised wide road, and the noble turned north rather than south. She would have been impressed were the sun not clearly visible, and even a noble must know that the sun is to north’s right in the morning.
She made no attempt to engage the noble in conversation. In the wilds one’s best defence against wild animals was to hear them coming before you saw them. That required travelling as quietly as possible. It was a pity that the noble didn’t seem to be trained in this, for he was making too much noise for her liking, just clomping along the road.
She would have been happy that he wasn’t trying to speak to her, and break her concentration on their surroundings, but she didn’t think that was why he wasn’t doing so. She thought that he was choosing to ignore her, just as he had done back in the wizard’s courtyard.
A noise. It came from her right. Then another. As she listened, she put it together. A creature was padding through the trees to their right. Aethelthryth readied her bow, and withdrew an arrow from her quiver, but didn’t draw it. Yet.
She continued to listen, tracking the creature as best as she could with her ears alone, but she couldn’t shoot accurately at something she couldn’t see.
Then a flash of colour. There it was. She drew her bow, and then released the string. The arrow flew true, and struck deep into the side of a mountain wolf, who had just leapt from the trees onto the path between the pair. By the grace of the Forest Masters it looked as if her arrow had hit the wolf in the heart. It collapsed, noisily, onto the road, dead.
But it was rare for mountain wolves to hunt alone. She extracted another arrow from her quiver, and continued to listen.
~~
Philip heard a noise behind him. He turned around to see what foolish thing the ranger had done.
Instead he saw a dead wolf, an arrow to the heart. Behind it the ranger had her bow ready and an arrow in hand.
He couldn’t believe that she would try to kill him now, but it looked like she was considering it. He drew his sword and placed his shield between them.
“Quiet!” she hissed.
He suddenly realised that she wasn’t thinking of killing him, but was listening for further wolves. He didn’t know why. The wolves of the plains tended to be solo hunters, as packs hunting the deer were ruthlessly put down to protect the nobles’ hunting.
Then a sound behind him. He whirled around to face another wolf. It leapt, and he took the jump on his shield, before stabbing around it with his naked sword. He withdrew his blade, and it fell to the ground in front of him, to be replaced by another. He dispatched the second wolf as he had done the first.
No further wolves were ahead of him on the road. He checked both that he had stabbed. One was still alive, so he put it out of his misery.
He turned around to see three more dead wolved behind him, all killed by arrows. Two between him and the ranger, and one behind her.
She was still listening, with another arrow in her hand. He waited until she relaxed and put the arrow back in her quiver. Only then did he kneel down and clean his sword on the pelt of one of the wolves, before sheathing it once more.
“Do you want to take the lead for the next section?” he asked. Better to have her in front of him where he could keep an eye on her, he realised. Her apparent ability to sense dangerous beasts which he was ignorant of was purely secondary, not really that important a reason at all.
She nodded and moved past him and the wolves. He followed at a suitably safe distance.
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Part 2 – Meeting the Dragon
—
Aethelthryth was relieved that she was allowed to go first. It was easier for her to listen to the noises around her with the noisy noble behind her than the other way around.
She kept alert as they continued through the mountains. The road gradually got worse and worse as they got ever closer to the dragon’s realm. Fortunately the wild animals seemed to be staying well away.
Eventually her mind slipped back to the wolf attack. The knight wasn’t exactly alert, but he’d dealt adequately with two of the pack. As long as he wasn’t leapt on out of the trees he should be capable of coping with his share of the wild animals on the route.
As the sun started to drop towards the western peaks, Aethelthryth came across a suitable camping site. She looked around before turning to the knight.
“This looks a good place to stop.”
He agreed, and the pair set about collecting sticks for a fire. When that was burning merrily, Aethelthryth agreed to take the first watch.
The knight lay down on the ground and fell asleep.
The night was noisy, but with the normal noises of night in the mountain woods. She kept listening for the sounds of a night predator, but none could be heard.
She kept track of time by the passage of the stars and the moon. At about midnight, she shook the knight awake. Once he was up, she lay down and fell asleep.
~~
Philip awoke. He was relieved that the ranger hadn’t slit his throat while he slept – he would have kept watch the entire night if he could have managed it, but knew that neither of them could stay up all night and still be able to function come the morning.
It was a boring watch. The woods were quiet, with only the occasional noise to mitigate the dullness.
The gradual lightening of the eastern horizon was the signal that his watch was coming to an end. He started to walk around the clearing to loosen his joints up.
When dawn broke, he woke the ranger up.
“A good watch?”
“Quiet. Very quiet.”
She smiled at that. He didn’t know why.
The fire had almost burned itself out. They extinguished it, and made it safe – burning the woods down behind them wasn’t on Philip’s list of things to do.
Then it was time to head out. By unspoken agreement, the ranger took the lead, with Philip taking rearguard.
~~
Aethelthryth took the lead, concentrating on the noises around them. The knight was still making too much noise behind her, but it was more distracting when he was in front.
He really was not very observant. A quiet watch, indeed. She smiled at the memory. If you knew what to listen for, the woods at night always had sounds to be heard.
She took the lead all day. The road remained clear, but the woods came close to blocking it completely in places. Despite occasional noises, the wildlife stayed clear.
Mid-afternoon, something imperceptible changed. She knew, without needing to be told that they were now in the territory of the former Kingdom under the Mountains.
About an hour later, the pair passed out from under the woods into a clearing before the mountains. The entrance to the dwarven tunnels was clearly visible.
“It’s late. Shall we rest in the woods tonight, and head down the tunnels tomorrow?”
It was a good plan, and so Aethelthryth agreed to it.
Since they had stopped earlier, there was time for the pair to converse before the fire, but the knight merely spoke a few platitudes, and made it clear that he really wasn’t interested.
As with the previous night, she took the first watch.
This time the woods were quiet. It felt lonely standing watch without the normal night-time sounds. It was as if the dragon had scared away all the expected woodland wildlife.
At about midnight she woke the knight for his watch.
~~
Philip took the second watch again.
He had thought that the previous night was quiet, but this night was even quieter. There was no sign of the dragon this night, much to his relief.
As dawn broke he woke the ranger up.
They dealt with the remains of the fire, before preparing for the tunnels to come. The wizard had given them torches that were enchanted to not go out as long as the holder wanted the light.
This time Philip took the lead. Tunnels were a very different scenario to the woods, much more constrained. His weaponry was better suited to defence from the front than to striking past another from the rear rank.
Legend had it that the Kingdom under the Mountains was once a light and joyous place, but now the regularly replaced torches were all gone, and the laughter of the dwarves a distant memory. Without the wizard’s torches the pair would have blundered around in the darkness until they found their way by blind luck back to the surface once more.
By the light of their torches they were able to make their way through the tunnels with some safety. There were pits hacked into the floor on occasion as defensive features, but the torchlight enabled these to be spotted and these were either bypassed or the party retreated and another way sought.
At every junction, Philip tried to choose the main tunnel down – the wizard said they needed to find the dragon’s treasure chamber deep underground – so he wanted to head down, but using tunnels wide enough for a dragon to use.
Several hours in, Philip carefully approached an arched doorway at the end of a tunnel. Then he stopped and gulped.
The archway opened into the corner of a much larger chamber. It was the chamber they were looking for. He could see piles of various jewels, and gold, silver and jewelled objects. He could also see part of a beast lying on the horde – the dragon was home!
“Don’t dawdle. Come on in!” came a low voice from inside the chamber.
~~
Aethelthryth stopped dead when she heard the voice from ahead. The dragon was in! And he knew they were here!
The knight started walking again, and crept through the doorway.
She stayed where she was. Perhaps the knight could distract the dragon, and then she could look for the ruby in secret.
“Both of you, please. I don’t often get visitors. There’s no need to be scared. Yet.”
That wasn’t going to work. The dragon seemed to know she was here as well.
Aethelthryth followed the knight into the chamber. She was astonished at the wealth on display. There were piles of everything valuable, all over the floor. In the centre of the floor was a large pile of jewels, and lounging on it was a dragon.
The dragon was the largest beast she had ever seen. It had red and orange scales, and seemed to glow with an internal light, as a result of which the entire chamber was lit.
Aethelthryth stopped alongside the knight, on his left.
“Now we are all here, I think introductions are in order. I am Flaviarus, the Lord under the Mountains by right of conquest. You are?”
“I am Philip of the Northern Marches.”
“I am Aethelthryth, ranger of Wesanglia.”
“Interesting. A ranger of the land to the east of mine and a noble of the land to the west. Has that meddler, Kestinel, sent you?”
Aethelthryth and the knight shared glances, but neither answered.
This seemed to amuse the dragon. “He has, hasn’t he? What has he asked you to steal from my hoard?”
She answered, “The Ruby of Lashtinar.”
“A gem that Lashtinar himself entrusted to my care. Has the end of the world approached already?”
“We’re told that it has,” answered the knight.
“Perhaps, perhaps not. He was never that impressive as an apprentice, but he is the best wizard mankind has produced since Lashtinar – even if even now he isn’t half the wizard Lashtinar was.”
Aethelthryth stayed quiet. She didn’t know what to say. The dragon seemed to know more about what was going on than she did.
“Still, perhaps the meddler’s right. It would be excessively cruel of me to incinerate the pair of you without testing your worthiness first.
“Hmmm. How should I test you? A test of strength would be cruel – you would both fail. A test of magic is pointless – I can smell that neither of you have any. So a test of wits. Yes, a test of wits.”
“How do we pass this test?” asked the knight. She was also interested in the answer.
“I set you a number of riddles. Answer enough without getting any wrong, and you can have the ruby.
“First: I rule the night sky, but sometimes travel in reverse. What am I?”
“Jupiter.”
“What?” she asked.
“Jupiter. The planet named after the king of the gods. Like all planets it sometimes goes retrograde.”
“Correct! And well explained, though that gains you no bonus in this test.
“Second: I dress in blue and orange, and fish for my supper. What am I?”
Aethelthryth thought for a bit. Fishermen never dressed in blue and orange, so it must be a beast or a bird. There were birds that fished. Didn’t one of them have feathers of the stated colours? Yes. “A kingfisher.”
“That’s a bird?” asked the knight.
“Yes, a blue and orange one that catches fish.”
“Correct! Again, no bonus for the explanation.
“Third: I come not out in the dark, yet fear light. I am an excellent mimic. What am I?”
Aethelthryth looked across at the knight, not really sure how to start answering that one. He looked across at her. Then he laughed.
“Look,” he pointed behind him.
As she looked, she noticed his shadow move, and groaned.
“A shadow,” they said in unison.
“Correct! Fourth: A winged terror, armed with fire and claw. A lover of wealth and beauty, and a collector of renown. What am I?”
Aethelthryth looked across at the knight. She smiled, for this riddle wasn’t difficult. He smiled back.
“A dragon,” they said in unison.
“Correct! And you have passed the test of wits. You may retrieve the Ruby of Lashtinar.”
“If you will permit the query, which is the Ruby of Lashtinar?” asked the knight.
The dragon laughed. “Of course! You’ve never seen it have you? It’s over there,” the dragon indicated the direction with his head, “on top of those sapphires.”
The knight walked carefully through the treasure chamber, and carefully picked up the specified gem, a ruby that only just fit within his right fist.
No sooner had the Ruby of Lashtinar been obtained than the dragon spoke again. “To ensure your swiftest exit from my domain, I will direct you along the shortest route to the main gate. To ensure you take nothing else of value to me on your way out, I will escort you from behind.”
~~
Philip wasn’t sure what he felt about the dragon’s latest comments. A swifter exit from the tunnels than backtracking their way in was good, but the complete lack of trust in a knight’s integrity, let alone a noble’s integrity irritated him. If the dragon was only following them because of a Wesanglian’s reputation (although he didn’t think any longer that this particular Wesanglian was anywhere near the worst of her kind) then that wouldn’t be too bad, but he didn’t think that the dragon was being that discriminatory.
The dragon directed the pair to a different entrance. Philip didn’t have time to put the ruby in his right hand into a pack before they were told to set off on the journey back to the surface.
The dragon gave clear and concise directions, always before they reached the next junction, so there was never any excuse for the party to stop.
Following the dragon’s instructions they also avoided all the pits that they had run into on the way down.
After about two hours of travel through the tunnels under the mountains, they re-appeared under the sun and sky.
“The sun is quite low. I’ll give you permission to stay in my territory tonight, but I expect you to leave as soon as possible thereafter. If you stay another night in my lands your lives will be forfeit.”
The dragon flew off without requiring a response.
“Shall we camp where we camped last night?” Philip asked.
She agreed, and the pair proceeded into the woods. Once they had found the campsite once more, Philip put the ruby in his pack.
There was still some time to kill after the campsite had been set up and the night’s fire lit. So Philip and the ranger engaged in conversation. Philip thought it was only polite to get to know his quest partner better, and tonight was as good a time as any to start the process. He had wasted enough nights in refusing to converse with her.
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Part 3 – The Remainder
—
Aethelthryth took the first watch again.
It was quiet, quieter than the previous night. It seemed as if with the dragon on the prowl all the wildlife was not venturing out.
The complete absence of clouds meant that the stars and moon shone brightly, and she passed the time, given that there was no noise to keep track of, reviewing the constellations.
At midnight she shook Philip awake for his watch.
~~
Philip found his watch even more boring than the previous night’s. Nothing seemed to be happening.
It was a relief when the growing light signalled the coming of the next day.
At dawn he woke Aethelthryth.
The pair cleared up the camp, and then set off once more.
~~
Aethelthryth led the way once more.
About an hour into their trek, something imperceptible told her that they had exited the dragon’s lands.
They kept hiking all day, the sounds of animals in the woods growing ever stronger, though nothing sought to come close to the travellers.
Philip followed her. She was occasionally tempted to engage him in conversation, but refrained. In potentially dangerous wild areas such behaviour was not sensible.
When the pair reached their first campsite once more, the pair stopped for the night.
~~
Philip assisted in starting the night’s fire, and then the pair conversed once more.
A few minutes in, Aethelthryth enquired as to Philip’s plans for the future.
“Quite simple really. I’ll soon turn twenty-five. On my birthday I’ll get married.”
“To whom?” she enquired.
Silly question, all knew the practice. “Whomever my parents have arranged to be my wife. If I’m lucky I’ll get an heiress, but more likely it’ll be an eldest daughter with a brother or two.”
“You don’t get a choice?”
He couldn’t interpret the tone of her voice. “Of course not! The purpose of marriage is to strengthen the wider family by gaining additional land where possible, and alliances where not. Only someone with an ability to take the long view can select the unions well, and that’s not me yet.”
“And you’re happy with this arrangement?”
“It doesn’t matter. This is what’s best for us, and hence its what’s best for me.”
Aethelthryth shut up, and made it clear that the conversation was now over.
Philip had no idea what the issue was. This was how the nobility had organised their marriages for generations. He’d known that would be his fate on his twenty-fifth birthday since he was twelve. And it was better for him and his brothers than for his sisters. They were available for alliance from their sixteenth birthday, and any that weren’t engaged by their eighteenth birthday were deemed too old. Once they were engaged, they then had to wait until their fiancé reached twenty-five. He’d been probably been engaged without his knowledge for years.
~~
Aethelthryth was furious with herself as she took the first watch once more.
She’d allowed herself to forget that her quest partner was a noble, with a noble’s arrogant perspective on anything and everything. She had actually allowed herself to think that he was a decent young man, perhaps even a suitable match for herself.
But instead he was going to go through a farce of a marriage to some willing victim he didn’t know, just because his family had told him it was a good idea.
And she couldn’t just leave the noble here and head home. The wizard had made it clear that he needed both their help to cast his spell.
She fumed all watch. Unfortunately, no wild animals decided to investigate the camp, so she had nothing to take out her fury on.
At midnight, she shook the noble awake, and went to sleep.
~~
Philip awoke to the sense that something was wrong. Aethelthryth was suddenly distant, though why he had no idea.
There were more noises in the woods this night, but it was still quiet.
He kept alert, but it was not an easy watch.
At dawn, he woke Aethelthryth. She was cold, but the pair worked together to tidy up the camp.
~~
Aethelthryth took the lead once more. She set a fast pace. The sooner they were back at the wizard’s tower, the sooner she could spend time not in the noble’s company.
The noble followed her, as noisy as ever. She wanted to yell at him to quieten down, but there wasn’t a point – nobles weren’t taught how to be anything other than noisy.
She kept her ears on the woods around them, but no wolves decided to attack the party. They’d probably killed enough of the local path on their way north that the rest were giving them a wide berth. A pity – she still needed something to take her feelings out on.
It was nearly a whole day’s hike, but eventually the path to the wizard’s tower appeared. A short walk later, and the wizard was greeting them once more.
The noble fished out the ruby, and handed it over.
“Excellent, excellent. We’ll cast the spell tomorrow.”
Aethelthryth headed up the tower to the room the wizard had assigned to her, and shut herself away for the rest of the day.
~~
Philip watched Aethelthryth head into the tower. He still didn’t know why she wasn’t talking to him anymore.
He engaged the wizard in conversation, but the wizard wasn’t interested in explaining what the morrow’s spell would be like.
All he wrung out of the wizard was a few tales of Kestinel’s time as an apprentice wizard, including a story or two from his time in Flaviarus’ kingdom.
After an evening meal, Philip headed to bed.
~~
The next morning, Aethelthryth headed down to eat breakfast. By the grace of the Forest Masters she was able to get in and out without catching sight of the noble.
But later that morning, when everyone congregated in the wizard’s Spell Chamber, right at the top of the tower, her luck ran out. As required, the noble took his place on the other side of the wizard.
The wizard placed the Ruby of Lashtinar in the centre of the chamber, and directed the pair as to what they needed to do.
Then with a lot of chanting in strange tongues, Kestinel cast his spell.
With a flash of light, the tower vanished.
~~
When vision returned, Philip was inside a building in a winter scene. The wizard was by his side, with Aethelthryth standing on the wizard’s other side.
There was some kind of portal, and through it Philip could see many people.
It took some time, but eventually Philip and his parents found each other.
Over the course of the rest of the day, various explorations were carried out by various psrties. There was a network of portals, all leading to different buildings, all seemingly in the midst of winter, but there was no way to exit the buildings to the snow outside.
The wizard cast many more spells, and ensured that everyone would have all the food and water they needed for as long as they needed them for.
But not all the people of their old world had been transported to their new world. Once all the transferees had been accounted for, Philip’s parents had some bad news for him.
The lady he was intended to marry hadn’t been pulled through to this world by the wizard’s spell. And none of the ladies of the nobility that had been transferred were available – all having been transported with their intended. His forthcoming marriage was off, unless he could find a young lady for himself.
~~
Aethelthryth had found some of her fellow rangers, and was seriously considering heading out to explore the farthest reaches of their new world.
Unfortunately, before she could set off, she had a visitor, her least favourite noble.
They made their way through the standard greetings.
“I’ve received some bad news.”
Aethelthryth didn’t really care how much bad news the noble had received.
“My parents tell me that my fiancée hasn’t come with us, and they’re out of options.”
What a terrible shame. Did he really expect her to care?
“I’ve been forced onto my own resources. I know I’ve said or done the wrong thing, and upset you. I know this is probably the last thing you want to hear, but would you consider my suit?”
Of course … Wait! Before she reflexively turned him down, she considered. When he wasn’t being the arrogant noble, he had been a good companion. And he didn’t seem to be playing that role for the time being.
“I’ll consider it, but I’m not making a final decision yet.”
“Thank you. How do you wish to proceed?”
~~
On Philip’s twenty-fifth birthday, he stood at the altar of the church.
Through the portal at the far end appeared Aethelthryth, flanked by a pair of her fellow rangers. As he caught sight of his intended, his heart leapt in his chest.
One hour later, Philip and Aethelthryth, newly married, made their way back out of the portal.
After the reception, they headed off on their new life together.
~~
Aethelthryth and Philip lived happily ever after. No-one ever figured out that Kestinel had messed up the spell, and rather than transporting them to a new world, had transported them to multiple snow globes in the new world instead.
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I’m suddenly getting the urge to check all the household snowglobes for dragons and rubies!
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Wow! Great tale! Isn’t there an anthology looking for Winter tales or something? Outstanding!
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[…] To see all of the prompt responses, and perhaps join in the challenge yourself, hop on over to More Odds Than Ends. […]
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and a visual response to a very sweet little prompt. https://www.cedarwrites.com/odd-prompts-the-kitten/
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Adorable warm fuzzies!
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AC Young proposes, “The first north wind of the season always brought with it cold air and the first snows of winter.”
A fun little prompt that I could do more with, but travel is wiping me out.
The season was changing. Drak could feel it in his bones. Spring had given way to summer, summer to autumn, and now autumn was fading into winter. The seasons changed slowly here. It was pleasant land; good for farming, raising crops and animals, a land where solid men and women, born to the soil, grew up and took their own place in the pageant of their people, raising families of their own and so on down the generations.
It was a soft land, but steady, and it produced armies of solid soldiers who ground their enemies into dust over time. They were implacable, once they set their minds to it.
His own land was not so. It was a hard land that produced hard men. The seasons turned suddenly, though with enough experience you had a couple days warning.
The first north wind of the season always brought with it cold air and the first snows of winter. And when it came howling in, you had to be ready. You had to have your crops in or you and your family could die.
His people were a hard people and were tempered by a hard land. You could hunt. There were creatures in the forests of the north that could tide you through a harsh winter. But you were as apt to be hunted yourself if you went out. The wolves were notorious for picking off lone hunters; others went out and never returned.
Drak smiled. He was glad for his upbringing and his long-lost family that had raised him to survive in the north. But he was glad for his new home, following Vinal around this softer land. For now, he would enjoy the slow transition and the slower days. The gods had blessed him, after so much had been taken from him.
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And now mine is up on my LiveJournal at https://starshipcat.livejournal.com/1446246.html. A little more rushed than I would’ve liked, thanks to having to take a sick day this past weekend and being subpar Monday and Tuesday, but something to work with when it comes time to write the story of the founding of Shepardsport Pirate Radio.
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Becky Jones tossed the pebble…
Spitting fire and shedding fur, the small demon rampaged through the house.
[oho! First thought…]
Ernie, my cat, watched as the small demon rampaged through the house, spitting fire and shedding fur. Then as the small demon ran past his cat tree, Ernie leaned over and whapped him solidly. The demon slipped, fell, turned and glared at Ernie, who raised his paw, claws extended, and held the demon in his stare. After a moment, the demon dropped his eyes, and slowly rolled over on its back, neck bared. Ernie watched, then leisurely stepped down off the base of the cat tree, strolled over, and gently tapped the demon with his paw. Then Ernie sauntered off into the kitchen to check his food…
[that’ll teach that demon who is the boss in this household!]
Anthony watched his latest apprentice try to deal with the little chore he had left for him. What was so hard about decorating their home for Christmas? But the boy apparently decided to conjure help, or was it hell, for himself. And now, look at that! Spitting fire and shedding fur, the small demon rampaged through the house. Where was the boy? Oh, there he was, huddled under the table, staring at the demon.
But, Anthony had to admit, the demon wasn’t really making a mess. No, those fiery balls it was spitting flew around, then nestled into the tops of the candles on the tree. And those tufts of fur? He looked down at his own feet, wrapped in a new set of grey furry muffs. The other tufts were also rolling around, then gathering into hand warmers, neck wraps, and other useful items. So, it might be time for him to take a hand. He chuckled, and stood up.
“I see you are doing the job I gave you, and you used your magical abilities to get some help with it!”
The apprentice gaped, then scrambled out from under the table and nodded.
“Yes? I mean, I didn’t think…”
Anthony held up his hand.
“Actually, I suspect you did think. After all…”
Just then the demon ran around the corner and zipped between them. It spit a ball of fire towards Anthony, and dripped a trail of fur pads, then raced out of the room.
The apprentice slapped his head.
“You see? I goofed! I thought it would help, but…”
Anthony smiled.
“Look again! Watch what happens.”
The ball of fire swooped up and over his head, then split into four darts that lit the candles on the mantle. Meanwhile, the tufts of fur slowly rolled into a rug in front of the fireplace.
The apprentice watched, then looked at Anthony.
“You’re not angry? You’re not going to hit me?”
Anthony laughed.
“No, no! Although I do want you to tell me, very carefully, exactly how you called that demon, so that we can send him back when the house is decorated.”
The apprentice stuck his tongue between his teeth for a moment, then bit his lip.
“Aaaah, okay. But I have to admit, I sneezed twice while doing the incantation. I think that may have affected him?”
Anthony had to take a deep breath to avoid laughing again.
“Why, yes, that certainly would change things. Do you know exactly when you sneezed? Ah, wait, let’s start at the beginning. I told you to decorate the house for Christmas, then I went upstairs. What did you do then?”
[Okay, this is starting to run away, but it sounds kind of like a fun start. Of course, I need to have the demon running through a bit more often… and figure out what to do with their new houseguest, when they can’t quite figure out how to get rid of it? Or… hum… but it’s late, so let’s post this and see what happens…]
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Oh, drat, forgot to put in a reference to Mickey Mouse in The Sorcerer’s Apprentice… After all, should teach the apprentice what kind of trouble he could get in…
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Oh, these are both fun!
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