Days 322-324 (300-302)

Day 322 (300):

We were awake and dressed when Sim arrived at our door. He informed us he would bring the recording to the dining room where breakfast waited. As we sat, we wondered how one leprechaun could do so much. Anna and Sloth revealed the spells that created unseen servants plus the food. 

Sim brought the recorder in, but did not seem pleased. He flopped into his seat and carelessly rolled the glass on the table.

"Nothing, absolutely nothing. Castle Night is silent. The battle field is the only activity in the area. Your bird purged as far as my instruments can see. My research is ruined."

 We were at a loss. We felt for Sim, but releasing trapped souls was far more important than research. We ate in silence, letting him sort out his emotions. His plate and the recorder were the only things he would look at as he ate. Mentally, we discussed leaving today to not remind him of our actions. He was still stewing when we finished and left to pack. 

We had nearly finished when Sim entered.

"Perceptive girls. You already predicted my position. I am sorry to part on such a note. I cannot concentrate on my work with you here. I will tell you a few things. The governor's palace is nearly due south. The road will, eventually, get you there. Going across country will not only get you there faster, but the forest will cut off the biting winter wind. You will have to cross the river Castle Night sits in, but that should be easy. There are a couple of villages between here and there for you to rest and get supplies. I will be busy and, most likely, not see you leave. So, farewell, Ladies, and safe travels."

With that, Sim walked out. 

We finished packing and left Castle Day.

The land around was fairly empty and Callie was able to warn us of soft spots and we avoided them easily. The area seemed lighter, like a great weight had been lifted. We came to the conclusion that the spirits' departure was the cause. Our companions did notice the increase in animal activity. They seemed pleased. We actually heard bird song for the first time since leaving the Faerie Realm.

Stopping for a break and a bite, we all felt around the area. Lisa and Sarah reported "health" returning. Callie actually felt some of the soft spots getting stronger, as if the very land had been made weak by all of the spirits that were stuck here. While Gretta had nothing to report, being in this area seemed to strengthen her and give her confidence a boost. Anna and Alice told us the histories were "sorting themselves out", not being "stirred" by the spirits. I felt a peacefulness that I had not felt since arriving. Only nature spoke to me. 

We continued south all afternoon. We found a nice clearing near sunset where we made camp. Our companions found good hunting and were well fed. Our supplies were still plentiful, but we rationed them anyway. We raised a shield just in case it rained during the night.

Day 323 (301):

The swords woke us just before dawn, letting us know a visitor was approaching. Feeling around, we felt the Treant guardian from the other day. Mentally, we welcomed him to join us at our camp. He wove his way to us and sat as we broke camp.

"Well met, again, Ladies and friends. A wonder has occurred since our last meeting. Hoards of spirits have left these woods. My trees and the land grow stronger with each passing moment."

We told him about Castle Night. He was delighted. He confirmed the draining effect undead and spirits, in mass, have on all living things and how animals flee from such energies. He confirmed the location of the governor's palace. He wished he could take us there himself, but we were too many for him to carry and that area was under another's guardianship. He did volunteer to mark the best path to the end of his territory to guide us. We thanked him for all of his help. He rose and headed south, disappearing into the forest. 

We followed his path all day, finding another clearing to make camp. We sensed moisture in the air and decided to raise a shield in case of rain or snow.

Day 324 (302):

Good thing we had the shield as a wet snow had fallen during the night. A half-foot mound encircled our shield, perfectly outlining its edge. The Treant's path was still easily followed, both visually and by feel. 

In a few hours, we were looking at Castle Night. Just as we viewed it in the mirrors and through Set, it was a dark uninviting place. Even in direct sunlight, it was still dark. Tiny arrow-slit windows were placed asymmetrically over its surface. Its dark reflection in the slow river made it look twice as tall. Even though the river was slow, we knew from Set's swim that it was also deep. We searched for a way to cross. Set volunteered to freeze the water, but we were not sure it would work.

 "Sarah, talk to the water," Anna suggested, "Maybe it or someone in it will help us across."

Sarah cleared her throat and approached the river. In the mermaid language, she asked if anyone called the river home. We waited a few moments, but received no answer.

"I guess the spirits scared them away," Sarah speculated.

We all spread out to search for a way across. Our flyers went over the water in both directions and at different heights. We seven searched the shore. Anna and Callie felt that a secret construction had taken place, but they could not narrow it down to a single location. 

During our searching, Bo let out a mental "omph". We all spun to look at him, which was hard in the fog rolling off the warmer water into the colder air. We headed his direction, pass the castle, down river. Bo was flying around a large area, trying to fan the fog away from that area. In clear spots, I spotted blurs of color. Set, Dawn, and Echo flew over to Bo. Echo was flying at full speed, then tried to slow down or stop. With a slight "thud", Echo hit something hard. Set caught her before she hit the water. As he rose, Set scraped against something that sounded like rock or stone. We got closer, the blurs of color began to take shape. 

Anna and Callie shouted in unison, "A bridge! An invisible bridge!"

They and Alice began telling us about it. Built after the castle had fallen into the river, locals built a way to cross the now much wider river. During its construction, workers disappeared and strange sounds issued from the castle. By its completion, less than half of the original workers were still there. They returned home. The lich returned and inspected the bridge. He also saw the added spirits of the workers in the castle. He gave the zombies new orders: patrol the bridge and seize any who used it. They performed their tasks well, causing the bridge to be seen as cursed, sharing the castle's cursed state. Locals began avoiding both. The lich returned once again. For reasons known only to him, he rendered the bridge invisible. The zombies, apparently, didn't need to see the bridge to continue patrolling it. Over time, the stones that were the beginning and end of the bridge separated from the main body. 

During their tale, Set and I focused on it, wondering why it fluctuated between visible and invisible. The colors, we decided, was the magic used to conceal it. Something was wrong. Callie finally gave us the solution.

"The spell is being stretched as the two stones separate from the bridge. Plus, Dawn's magic the other day weakened it a bit. She might weaken it more, but not enough to be completely visible. Kayla, you and Set are the only two who see it. You will have to lead us over it."
The rest agreed, even though Lisa, in her stubbornness, tried to feel for it only to smack her hand into its unseen rail. We formed a chain. Set was first, as the heaviest and largest of us all. Callie took his tail, to warn of weak spots. Anna, Alice, me, Sarah, Gretta, and Lisa to guard us from behind. The other three companions flew around us to protect, watch, and warn. The starting stone was firmly on the ground. The first step after that was a bit of a stretch, Anna and Sarah had to nearly jump from visible ground to invisible bridge. Trust was the only thing that assured them they were hopping the right way. Slowly and  cautiously, Set led us across. Callie reported no weaknesses. Save for Set and I, we shuffled over the invisible stones, uncertain of where to place their feet. I mentally and verbally encouraged my sisters, letting them know they were safe. Some of them had their eyes closed to avoid the disorientation of the water moving under their feet with "nothing" under them. A few minutes later, we hopped onto the other stone and solid ground. My sisters were panting as they had held their breath most of the trip across. Lisa took up a handful of sand from the shore and tossed it onto the bridge, which lay wetly on the invisible stones we had just crossed. Gretta asked if we could send a message to Snathdubh to let them know this area was free of spirits and undead. We thought that was a good idea. We penned a letter to the Magistrate, explaining what had happened. Visualizing his desk, I sent it through kirlan to lay upon his desk. Hopefully, he would not be frightened by its arrival. We found the Treant's path again and continued south.

We were out of sight of both castle and bridge when we took a break to rest and eat. Dawn's influence had ended and no animals stirred around us. The forest was nearly silent, save for wet snow sliding off branches. Our maps indicated a small village not far from our location. Rested, we continued on. Dawn took up her scouting while Set did some scouting of his own. Now that we knew what to look for, he began looking for anything invisible or spectral. The rest of us kept an eye out for anything misty or the pendants glowing.

The evening sun was making the forest dark when we arrived at the small village we had hoped to encounter. Just like Snathdubh, Coille (CO-lee) was a non-permanent town. It had no "wall" but there was a metal fence that looked like it could be folded if needed. We walked up to a gate of sorts, manned by two young male leprechauns. They looked at us, trying to decide if we were real or spirit. Gretta greeted them and introduced us all in fluent leprechaun. This eased their minds and they allowed us to enter. Here, unlike Snathdubh, only the leprechaun language was spoken. This made Gretta our speaker as we looked for any place to spend the night. Finally, we found a man who would let us use his shop, provided we cleaned it and didn't let our "beasts" destroy anything. We gladly accepted his terms. Bo's whirlwind easily picked up the loose dust, sawdust, shavings, and other debris. He sent it out the door or placed it near a pile of cut logs. Set's ice provided the water needed to clean work benches, tables, chairs, and all the other surfaces. Dawn and Set used fire to burn rust off of saw blades and other metal items. 

Through Anna and Alice, we learned how this shop had deteriorated to such a sorry state. The man was a master carpenter and lumberjack. His apprentices use to keep the place tidy. Unfortunately, all of them had been taken by the spirits of the area, never to be seen again. Unwilling to "feed" the spirits any more, the man stopped taking apprentices. Forsaking his shop, he maintained only a small workbench in his home and used only wood he could gather in sight of Coille. We felt his sadness, even though he refused to show any emotion. By full dark, the shop was ready to be used again. We laid our mats out and stoked the fire. The carpenter, Sean, came running into the building, chattering at full speed. He looked around, very confused. Gretta told us he had been listening, even though he did not understand what we said. When we had grown quiet, he panicked, afraid something had gotten into town and taken us. Gretta calmed him, letting him know we were just settling down to sleep. This confused him. He looked around the shop, utterly amazed that we were finished. He could not find a speck of dust, dirt, nor crumb. With a puzzled look, Sean left in silence.

We did not follow him. We laid our mats in a large empty area next to the fireplace where we had a fire going. Our companions piled upon the front stones. Set encircled Dawn and Bo as they curled up in front of the fire. Echo found an edge to hang from that was close enough to stay warm.

Day 321 (299)

Day 321 (299):

Sim knocking on the door woke us. Eanraig was balled up on his half of Anna's mat, snoring still, as we rose and let Sim inside. He was cheery and eager to see the results his instruments had recorded. We decided to let Eanraig sleep and followed Sim to the turret. 

A wizard's glass in the heart of the device swirled as Sim removed it from its cradle. We went with him to the crowded area we had walked through upon entering this building. On a crowded work table, he laid the glass in another cradle.

"Let us see what my device collected," he said excitedly.

We gathered around as Sim moved his hands over the surface of the glass. He backed away.

We saw ourselves walking away just before sunset, very fast. Sim explained the increased speed let him see a whole night in less than an hour. The sun dropped and the moon shot across the sky. Fog-like images floated in the nearly pitch-black forest. Sim moved his hand as if turning a knob. The images shifted to show the rest of the surrounding forest. Far off, we saw a large area of the fog-like images. Sim looked closely. He sat back, rather disappointed.

"That is just the battle field. Nothing of note," he told us.

"Which way is the governor's palace?" Gretta asked, trying to encourage Sim.

"South," he said and turned his hand again.

At the furthest edge, another area of images shown. This one perked him up.

"That place is over a hundred miles away. To even be seen this far indicates lots of activity. Let's focus there," he said and touched the glass at that spot.

The images were fuzzy and a bit distorted, but we could see individual spirits around a central location. Sim stared hard at the place. 

"That is not the governor's palace. That is the companion to this castle. Two human brothers, twins, who could not stand each other built nearly identical castles fifty miles apart. Even by horse, that is a goodly distance. Unfortunately, the brother in this castle chose bad ground. At first, the sinking went unnoticed. Then, when noticed, became a game, rolling balls and such. At a five-degree pitch, it became a nuisance and slanted furniture was built to compensate. They continued such until the thirty-degree pitch made walking nearly impossible except at the corners with one foot on the wall. When the front gate cracked, that half, now at a forty-five-degree pitch, was abandoned. Upon this twin's death, the place was completely deserted, staff went to the other twin's castle. They all lived fine and well for almost two generations, until the storm sent a wall of water up the river where that castle stood, washing away the bank and placing that castle in the middle of the river. Humans still site those instances as reason to not live here. Pity. If the poor fellow here had moved his planing one hundred yards east, and his brother five hundred yards south, both could be standing proudly to this day."

"How much of the castle is out of the water?" Lisa asked.

"Most of the second floor and all of the rest above. During droughts, some of the first floor is visible," Sim replied.

"Good hiding place," Lisa remarked, "Only fish, aquatics, or something that doesn't breathe could to the first floor or below if it's underneath the castle."

"Yes, that makes sense. Only someone very powerful or very foolish could attempt to get his device from such a place. Dear girls, such may be beyond even you."

"Planning," Anna stated, "much planning is needed. We will not throw ourselves head-long into this endeavor."

Sim sighed in relief, "Good, thought before action. Glad to see you have brains as well as brawn. Fortunately, I still have this castle's floor plans. The two structures, building wise, are identical. The main differences are orientation and decoration. This castle's twin was an early bird, orienting the front to the east, lots of windows, and using light colors. That castle's twin loved the dark, all kinds, very few windows, western orientation, and dark colors. These places were known as Castle Day and Castle Night. A closer look would let us know of any changes between the two."

We all set about planning. In short order, we decided Dawn would fly Echo over there, staying close as Echo scouted the interior, and we would watch from here. We felt Dawn's energy would attract too much attention even though she was the fastest flyer. Echo's abilities to both be invisible and see in the dark made her the best scout for a place that was, probably, not lit or lit well. Set and Bo understood that the two females were best suited for this task. We went about linking a pair of mirrors, one each, to them to watch and guide.

Dawn clutched Echo gently around the wings and they took off. As Dawn flew much faster than Echo, all of us but the leprechauns, Eanraig had woken by this time, could hear Echo screaming about going too fast and "flying crazy". The fifty miles raced by. Soon, Castle Night was spotted. As Sim had said, it stood just north of dead center in the wide rolling river. Dawn circled it, both of them searching for a way inside. A narrow glass-less window was found and Echo went to it. Dawn rose to circle high above. Echo easily slipped into the window space and entered the dark castle. Switching to her night vision, the inside took on a strange, dream-like quality. No colors were visible, everything in shades of gray. At her slow pace, we were able to accurately compare Castle Night to the floor plan of Castle Day. Just like Sim said, the two were nearly identical. From the highest levels to the second floor, Echo searched. Through her, we saw spirits of various types, from fully formed to only wisps like smoke. Some solid entities were also spied. Although she could not view auras, she did explain odd smells or lack of body heat. 

The second floor had algae and other signs it spent a lot of time flooded. She found stairs to the ground floor. There was just enough room for her to fly between the vaulted ceiling and the slow moving water that nearly filled the level. Echo's vision penetrated the dark water. While nothing other than rotting furniture was visible on the floor, she did spot a stairwell leading further down. We marked its location on our plans. Echo returned to the upper levels to find her way out. She wiggled out of a break in the wall. Tired, she called to Dawn to retrieve her. Dawn swooped down as Echo distanced herself from the wall. 

Suddenly, Echo went backwards with a jerk. She screamed that something had her by the foot. She struggled to go forward, but between her fatigue and its strength, she kept going backward. Dawn let out an ear-piercing screech that shook Echo's captor enough for her to get away. As Dawn descended, she started glowing. Her light, from Echo's view, pierced the crumbling building. Small rays emerged on the other side, making the water sparkle. Something like smoke rose from the stone. While difficult to see in daylight and Dawn's phoenix light, we caught faces, arms, hands, legs, and clothing, which told us this was a hoard of spirits, not smoke. We did not know if she was driving them out or they were attempting to attack her. Dawn snagged Echo, screeched once more, and took off as fast as she could. Echo watched behind them and saw they were not pursued. 

We severed the link as they flew into Sim's window. Echo went straight to Callie, shaking so hard Callie could barely hold her. We praised them both for such a good job and getting out safely. Sim just stared in silence. Eanraig was trying to speak, but could not form a coherent thought. 

Finally, Eanraig blurted, "What the hell was that?"

This seemed to snap Sim out of his trance, "Spirit storm, very rare, like a mass exorcism. The purity of phoenix light, being a living element, must have broken the bands of darkness that was keeping many from passing over. From what I could see, they looked like staff people, most likely killed by the storm that placed the castle in the river. The governor must have used the resident spirits as guards."

"This castle does not have a sub-level," Lisa noticed.

"Not possible here. The area that is stable is pure marble. The part that isn't crumbled and collapsed when trying to dig such a thing. No, a sub-level here just could not be done," Sim explained.

We could see the problems that could prevent that type of construction. 

"What now?" Eanraig asked, "You've not even sure it is there."

"True, but we still have options," I told him, "Set, it is your turn. Through you, I can see the layers of energy. The lich's device should be the most energetic of all."

"Dawn should go back. Those people are not there by choice. If she can release them, we have an obligation to do so," Alice offered.

Dawn agreed, fluffing up to maximize her effect. I gave Set exact instructions to not try to enter the building, just to circle around it and look. We would be connected, so if anything dangerous appeared, I could help guide him. He understood and the two flew off to Castle Night. The others watched Dawn's actions through the mirror while I sat and viewed Set's activity.

To our combined sight, Castle Night was a swirling mass of energy. Set stayed back as Dawn went to the building and started glowing, growing bright quickly. Looking up, she let out a tone so pure that I nearly cried. Around her glowing form, a large fog rose from the building. Through Set, I saw faces and people with looks of relief, joy, and thankfulness. The number of souls was immense.  Finally, after many moments, the fog stopped. Dawn returned to normal and flew to a tree to rest. 

Set took off and circled the castle. With all those spirits gone, the building was much calmer. Although there were still bright points of energy, nothing indicated an item as powerful as the lich's device should be. Even at the waterline, no sign of such a thing. Set volunteered to swim and look underwater. We agreed and watched as he went underwater and circled the submerged floors. The door had rotted away, leaving a gaping maw for the entrance. The sub-level was sunk half-way in mud. Still, we saw no energy that could have been the device. Set swam around the building, right against the bottom of the river. Only tiny points of energy were visible. As Set surfaced, I asked him to bring a piece of the castle back to read it. Set struck an outcropping with his lightning, snapping off a good-sized chunk of the stone. Catching it before it hit the water, Set and Dawn flew back to us. Both were very tired. Set laid the stone upon Sim's work bench.

"What's this for?" Eanraig asked.

"We can get information about the castle from a piece of it. This will let us know if he has used this place for anything," Gretta told him. 

We gathered chairs to be more comfortable. Sim grabbed tools to record our findings. Touching the stone, we began receiving the castle's information. The governor was already a lich when the storm began to wash away the ground under Castle Night. He watched the castle slowly slide into the river. By his power, he imprisoned the people inside the castle to drown as the building sunk and the water filled the sub-level, ground level, and the next two stories. Those on the upper floors and roof were stranded. The lich's henchmen picked off any on the roof or in the small windows who tried to escape the rising water. Every person, even the lord of the castle, was slain and trapped, to forever inhabit the sunken structure. When no life was left inside and the building was firmly in the river, the lich magicked himself inside it. At random, he animated the corpses and commanded them to kill any living person who entered the castle. Even in the drowned levels, he made zombies. He toured the building top to bottom, including the sub-level. He went back outside, looked at the surround area, and set the condition that was the only way the spirits inside would be released.

"When Dawn's light shines through Castle Night, all souls shall be free. When light sings, all undead are undone."

Satisfied, he left.

We released the stone at looked at each other. Sim and Eanraig stared at us. Sim broke the silence.

"She fulfilled his conditions. He thought, with the castle in a valley, the sun would always be up several hours before shining on it. He messed up by saying 'dawn' instead of 'sunrise'. As a phoenix, she is part of the light, light that sings."

Eanraig looked fit to faint. The rest of us laughed. Once we recovered, we got Eanraig fit to go back to Snathdubh and report to the Magistrate what occurred at the castle. We sent him home in time to get there before sunset. After he left, we went with Sim to his recording device to see if we could increase its range and clarity. We each took a part to look through, to see if any were out of focus or broken. We ate as we worked, our companions hunting in the thick forest. They returned with fat rabbits, a squirrel, and a part of a fish. We did find a couple were in need of repair. Callie helped greatly in finding where the exact problems resided in each. As we reassembled it, Sim was pleased with how far they could see and had high hopes for tonight.

Near sunset, we looked towards the area Sim said was a battle field. Glowing shapes began to form as the sky darkened. 

"What battle was that?" Lisa asked Sim.

"Ancient, human, I think. It is contained, never goes beyond that area. Never bothered to investigate beyond making sure it stayed put. Do you think it is important?'

"Just curious. I'm still a soldier. Battles and such," Lisa explained.

Sim nodded and we went down to dinner and bed.