by C.S. Fanning
Aeden had spun to face the new arrival, sword in hand, and what he saw filled him with dread. A slender female figure was draped over the bearded man’s shoulder and two more bodies were tied to the saddles of the two horses that he led.
Bringing up his blade, Aeden growled “what have you done to our friends?”
“Peace Champion, I have done as you asked and rescued them from their own folly. Put away your weapon and let us get somewhere warm and dry.”
Something about the man’s voice reminded Aeden of the Morrighan and the memories of the stories he had grown up with concerning the gods and goddesses came flooding back and he knew what this place was. Swiftly sheathing his blade he bowed low. “Pardon me lord, I knew you not for one of the Sidhe.”
“Welcome to my humble land” the Sidhe lord said bowing in return with just a trace of a smile upon his lips.
Aeden moved to aid the lord of the fair folk with his friends, never noticing the startled look upon Riordan’s face. In moments one of the sons was leading the horses down a side tunnel that Aeden had not even noticed before, while the other brought out a litter of unusual size and placed three unconscious companions upon it. In an amazing display of strength the slender young man singlehandedly hoisted the poles and drug the litter down the main corridor.
“My lord, will our friends be well?” Aeden inquired.
“I gave them a sleeping draught Aeden. They were cold, wet, and confused by the time I found them, and no more trusting of me when I found them than you were at first. When I took out my flask and had a drink before offering them all a swallow, they had no way to know that the elixir would have no effect on one such as me” he said, laughing in such deep rich tones that Aeden and even Teagan couldn’t help but join in his mirth.
Aeden turned to glance at Riordan, who hadn’t made a sound since asking the brothers for hospitality, but was distracted as he noticed the cave mouth closing up behind them as though it never existed. Noticing his wide-eyed expression the others turned as well.
“Aeden?” Teagan’s tremulous voice questioned.
“It’s ok Teagan, the houses of the Sidhe have long been hidden from all but a few mortals, now you understand why this is so” Aeden responded, taking her arm in his own to comfort her fears.
Riordan turned and looked at Aeden, making a face at him that Aeden knew meant that his friend was not in complete agreement on the matter. Aeden shot him an inquiring look, but Riordan just shook his head.
“Young Riordan is worried that you don’t know who I am” their host said. “He is concerned that you don’t realize that I am Ogma, brother to the king of the gods, and in essence your family, Champion.”
Riordan stepped back, worry lines etched across his face. “I do not wish to offend but sometimes we mortals are ill equipped to understand the gods and their actions” he said.
“Young man, you are not ill equipped to understand much of anything. Let us not mince words; you do not trust the gods, and in this you are wise” Ogma said. “As it happens, my brother sent me to find you, and you are perfectly safe in my domain. You may leave at any time, though I would strongly suggest waiting out this storm.”
Aeden didn’t really know what to say but was familiar with Ogma from the stories he had heard. He had now met two of the most powerful beings to ever exist, and both had been more than kind to him. They didn’t seem at all like the beings in those precautionary tales that his people always told their children. He understood why Riordan was concerned, and no doubt Fianna would be furious when she awoke, but the great and wise Ogma had called him family. Accepting the mantle of Morrighan’s Champion had saved their lives twice now, surely she could see that.
Aeden’s sense of direction, distance, and the passage of time were all confused. When they suddenly walked into a huge dining hall that Aeden was certain had not been there only a few steps before, he was surprised to find Fianna, Faolan, and Quinn not only awake and seated at the big table, but boisterously engaged in feasting with Ogma’s sons who he now could see were twins.
“There you are!” Fianna shouted, jumping up and hugging each of them in turn. Aeden was taken aback by her uncharacteristic behavior. Faolan and Quinn were equally jolly but for them that was a behavior that did not seem so unusual.
“I think perhaps you need to fill the cups next” Ogma said to one of his sons while giving the other a stern look. “Full to the brim, for knowledge without wisdom does a fool make.”
The meaning of his words was lost on Aeden and his companions. Ogma, seeing the confusion on the faces of those he had already spoken with, looked to the son he had just chastised. “Perhaps these three should have a sip of your brew as well, though just a snifter, and then see that each has a full mug of your brother’s tonic after.”
The sheepish looking brother splashed some amber colored liquid from a flask at his hip into three small cups and handed them to the new arrivals, while his twin went to the large cauldron near the hearth and lifting mugs from a nearby shelf began filling them with a thick brown liquid.
“Drink up” encouraged the first of the twins motioning toward the small cups they held. Though he was unsure, Aeden knew that it would be unwise to refuse their host and risk giving offense. The drink burned like liquid fire all the way down, filling his belly with a sense of warmth that permeated both body and mind. It was all he could do not to choke as the vapors from the fluid burned his nose and throat. From the gasping sounds coming from Riordan and Teagan they were having an equally difficult time swallowing the stuff.
Aeden welcomed the mug that Ogma placed in his hands a few moments later. He didn’t recognize this drink either but surely it wouldn’t be as harsh. To his surprise it was sweet like honey but not overpowering. When Ogma turned to take more mugs from the twin who had filled them, the other twin quickly poured another splash of the amber fluid into his mug. Trying not to grimace he took another sip and was very surprised that the two combined into a lovely taste.
Once everyone had their mugs Ogma invited them to the table, and where only moments before it had been bare, it was now laden with a feast unlike anything these sons and daughters of simple farmers had ever seen. Dozens of dishes in polished silver trays and bowls littered the table. Where before they had been reluctant, now they dove in without reservation, eating their fill and more as the god and his sons regaled them with stories of legend and fancy.
None of them could later say how long that dinner lasted, and if ever it came up inevitably they would argue the issue. What they could agree upon was that by the time the last of them set back from seemingly unending feast the trials and troubles that they had carried since leaving home had fallen away, leaving them at peace for the first time since their Nameday.
As the meal ended, Ogma suggested that Aeden, Fianna, and Faolan might enjoy some sport with his sons while he showed the rest his library. Aeden looked to Fianna for her opinion but though she was a lot less giddy than when they first entered the hall, she was still very much more relaxed than she had ever seemed to be. Aeden thought that perhaps he should voice some objection, leaving Riordan with the god seemed in some way to violate his vow to watch over him. On the other hand, if Ogma meant Riordan any harm, what exactly could he do about it?
Following the twins down a hall shortly thereafter, Faolan and Fianna chatted and joked with their hosts. Aeden hung back; troubled without understanding why. He wasn’t concerned about their hosts but something in this situation was tickling his mind. There was something about this situation that he was sure he should remember, but the harder he tried to think about it, the more elusive the thought became.
His ruminations ended when they suddenly turned into a cavernous room that turned out to be an armory. “Father said you are to select any equipment that you might need for yourselves” said one of the twins. The other pointed to an open door on the other side of the room.
“There is a practice ya
rd beyond that door that you may use to try out your selections” he told them.
Aeden looked around at rack after rack of arms and armor that he imagined would be the envy of many kings of men. Aeden was amazed at it all and began wandering through the enormous place, admiring the staggering variety of items. When finally he found a buckler with virtually the same engraving as his sword he picked it up and carried it through the door to the practice yard. Faolan and Fianna were already there each working with one of the twins. Faolan was holding a pair of short swords and practicing a technique which involved a complex series of movements that ended with using one of the blades to parry an overhead attack while simultaneously thrusting with the other. Faolan was surprisingly swift and accurate with these blades.
Meanwhile, Fianna was using a very fine looking bow made of a wood so dark as to appear black which was banded in silver at the grips and staves. She was shooting with matching black arrows with silver fletching at a target at least eighty steps away and as far as Aeden could tell, not one of shafts were outside of the bullring which was the size of a man’s fist.
Aeden had never been good with a bow so he joined Faolan. The pair were now sparring slowly; dancing around each other while their blades