#august 1614

[thewatchau]

Fae Hunt Chapter 10

Another short one I think, but worth it

Jon Quillian belongs to @marginmaster87

Bard's Note: Thank you to @theshapeshifter100!!

--

Jon was already outside in the training field. It was dark now, the moon shining through the gaps in the trees and torches dotted around. It was warm and humid, which wasn’t ideal, but still, those would be the conditions inside the forest.

“You good to go, Jon?!” she called across to him. She should probably stretch a little if she was honest.

“As I’ll ever be!” he called back.

“Alright!” Ivy walked over to the training field, rolling her neck and shaking off her arms.

She took position on one side of the field, tossing the spear from one hand to the other before going into a ready stance.

Jon attempted his own stance, but it was a little loose. Ivy couldn’t help but notice.

“Sort your feet out, you’re too close.”

“Oh,” he spread them out a little. “Like this?”

“That’s it, if your feet are too close together you can be more easily unbalanced.”

“Ah, alright. Thanks. So how do we start?”

“How about…?” Ivy shot forward with a jab from her spear. She found that she quite liked the range on it. She half expected her magic to poke out, but it still seemed to recognise a sparring match.

“Holy-” Jon leapt back in surprise, barely blocking the strike with his sword.

“On your toes, soldier!” Ivy admonished, but only to tease - especially as she missed with the next strike.

“On your toes yourself!” Jon couldn’t come up with a retort quickly enough, but swung at Ivy’s legs. She danced away and lightly poked Jon in the side.

“How familiar are you with a sword?” she asked.

“I’m better at wrestling,” he admitted. “I almost beat Gus when I met him,” his next strike missed, and Ivy’s retaliation grazed his ribs before moving away.

“Then why did you make one?” she’d at least had some experience with a spear! And it was easy to make.

“I had some informal training three years after the attack. I was like, ten, though. I thought I would remember more of it.”

Jon’s eyes focused and he managed to swing in a nice arc close to Ivy’s shoulder. Her block missed, and she mentally cursed, partially because she hadn’t needed to waste energy blocking in the first place.

“And you didn’t think to ask for practice to make sure, in the five days it took to get here?”

Jon paused in place, considering. “Well, when you put it like that…”

His next jab had him stumbling over his feet, nearly falling over as Ivy narrowly dodged.

“What are we going to do with you?” she shook her head in that kind of adult way that was really annoying to any student. She then reached up behind Jon and bopped him on the head with the blunt end of the spear while he was recovering.

“What you’re going to do is put up with me. Otherwise I’m sending Beck after you,” his next jab was much better, using the momentum from standing to his full height and turned to face her from an odd angle.

Ivy blocked with the length of the spear and got out of range.

“I suppose I’ll have to, but know that I might not always be able to come to the rescue. Green’s okay with a sword and I have no idea what Morgana’s like, but those Fae found me easy.”

That made Jon pause, and he began to circle Ivy cautiously, looking for an opening.

“I mean, what else am I going to do?” he asked. “I have to get her back.”

Jon spotted his opening and jabbed at Ivy’s side. Her block half succeeded, deflecting most of the force but still getting tapped on the ribs.

“I know. I get it, I do. It’s my damn fault in the first place. I just, want to trust you to look after yourselves so no one else gets stuck there.”

“I will. I’ll fight with my bare hands if I have to,” Jon appeared deadly serious, and his seriousness led to a better strike against Ivy’s head. She didn’t get a block up in time as she staggered back, missing her next strike. There was a brief bloom of pain in her head, but Jon hadn’t hit hard.

“I believe you. It doesn’t make me worry any less though.”

“Don’t. Worry distracts you. It makes you vulnerable,” his next strike was weaker and bounced off Ivy’s spear as she blocked, but she missed her next strike anyway.

“How can I not? I’ve seen Green fight, and you seem to know what you’re doing, and Morgana… I’m sorry I know you’re both adults, but only just!” Morgana was seventeen and Jon was younger than that!

“I know. But you have to trust us. Otherwise, you’ll have too much to think about,” his next swing was almost perfect, seeming to flow around her spear to land with the point on her chest. “Please, trust me.”

Ivy held her spear vertically and used it to gently push the sword point to the side. “I want to, and you’re right. There’s too much to think about already. I just, I don’t want anyone else getting hurt,” that line was so cliché it was painful. “Last time I came in here I was supposed to protect your sister, that’s what she hired me for. And, well, that clearly fell down the well.”

“You did protect her. Think about it: she would have gotten kidnapped regardless. You being there is what’s going to save her, because without you, she would have been gone without a trace. But with you, we know what happened. We can find her.”

Ivy just… stared. She had not thought about it like that, and hadn’t realised how much she needed to hear it.

To her great embarrassment she felt the back of her throat burn. She screwed up her face and got into a ready stance, determined to just get lost in the sparring. Her stance broke down pretty quickly, her spear point dipping into the dirt.

“I needed to hear that,” she admitted quietly, trying and failing to keep her voice level.

Jon dropped his sword and put a hand on her shoulder. “You can cry,” he said quietly.

A million swear words flashed through Ivy’s mind. It wasn’t supposed to be happening, she was supposed to be in control of herself, this wasn’t…

A few tears did drop, but she scrubbed them away. “We’re supposed to be training.”

“Can’t train if you can’t see through tears.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time,” she muttered without realising, and instantly regretted it. Damn the Guard. Damn the Coalition to obscurity and oblivion!

Jon’s brows knitted together in concern. “…What was the first time?”

“The Guard. The fucking Guard,” she growled. “Fuck, why now?! Why do I think about this shit now?!”

She backed away and flung her spear at one of the targets. It missed and landed in the ground, causing a surge of anger that made her roar into the night. It faded as quickly as it arrived, leaving Ivy breathing heavily.

--

You thought it would be a sparring match, surprise! It's emotions!

We were using dice I think for this, it's been a while, can't remember

Bard's Note: AHHHHH THIS MIGHT BE MY FAVORITE ONE SO FAR

[thewatchau]

Fae Hunt Chapter 6

Jon Quillian belongs to @marginmaster87, Morgana belongs to @shamrockace, Green belongs to @autumnleafauthor, and surprise guest Nurse Dawn belongs to @dawnstar13 who possibly forgot that she was in this!

Bard's Note: AND NO ONE FORGET TO THANK @theshapeshifter100!!!

---

“Well, so how long do you guys think we should wait before heading out?” Jon asked. “I’ll need at least another day to finish my sword…”

“Well,” Ivy paused, partially because she thought he’d finished the sword, and also struck with the realisation that… this was happening. After months of preparation, this was going to happen. “We could probably leave after your sword’s done.”

“Take your time with your weapons,” Green assured. “Maybe I can go over the maps again of the few pathed areas?”

“Not a bad idea.”

“So… the day after tomorrow?” Jon confirmed.

“That sounds pretty good. Plenty of time to go over all our notes again,” Ivy would need all of the help she could get with this enchantment.

“Good by me,” added Green.

“I’ve got everything I need prepared so I’ll be ready to go whenever, but that works too,” Morgana nodded.

“Want to help me with the maps, Morgana?” Green turned to the mage. “It’ll be good if we both study them in case we lose them, two brains might remember more.”

“Alright!” Jon stood up, interrupting. “It was great to meet you all, but I have to get back to work. See you at the gates, day after tomorrow!”

“See you!” Green called.

“Oh yeah, sure!” Morgana said in response to Green before turning to look after Jon. “And bye!”

“Come find me when you want it enchanted!” Ivy called after him as he waved goodbye and headed back to the forge. “And then there were three,” she commented. “Well, four,” she looked down at Eamon, “hi again boy.”

Eamon softly woofed in greeting.

“Good boy,” Ivy ruffled his head. “Otto’s gone outside now so you’re safe from him.”

“I really need a familiar…” Green mumbled under her breath.

“A caterpillar?” Ivy asked with a stupid grin.

“You make ONE JOKE!”

“If you find one, I can help with the official stuff because I can speak to animals,” Morgana offered, not really getting the inside joke.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Green giggled, while Ivy doubled over her stew bowl in silent laughter.

Green kicked Ivy’s shin under the table. “Shut up!”

This did not, in fact, make Ivy shut up, she just started making snorting noises as she began breathing in too quickly from silent laughter.

Green groaned and hid her face in her hands. “And this is what I get for offering my help…”

Ivy struggled to control herself, regularly breaking into fits of giggles even when she thought she’d recovered. “So-sorry!”

Morgana shook her head in bemusement and nibbled on her buttered bread and jerky, occasionally offering a few pieces of jerky to Eamon.

“You know what? I’ll see that we get some supplies before heading off.” Green deliberately ignored Ivy still chuckling away. “I’ve already eaten anyways. Where’s your Infirmary?”

Morgana half winced at the mention of the Infirmary, which Ivy noticed.

“You okay there, Morgana?”

“Hmm?” she glanced towards Ivy, surprised at the perception. “Oh uh, yeah. I’m fine,” she offered her most convincing fake smile.

“Okaaay,” Ivy was entirely convinced, but turned back to Green, using her fingers to make her point. “So the infirmary’s out the door, down the corridor, turn left and keep going until the smell of herbs and clean linen overwhelms you.”

“Aaalright,” Green dragged out the word as she tidied up her luggage, then only picked up her satchel before making her way towards the door. “Mind keeping an eye on my bag?”

“Can do,” Ivy and Morgana continued to eat.

---

Green followed the directions, and soon found her way to the right door.

“Hello?” she asked, stopping in the doorway.

“One minute!” there was movement at the back as the nurse present finished making one of the beds. She was short, about the same height as Ivy give or take, with brown hair partially hidden under a white cap.

She was quickly finished, standing up straight and dusting her hands off before approaching Green. “Can I help you?”

“I’m hoping to get some travel supplies. We don’t know how long we’ll be gone, we might need something for emergencies,” she held out her hand. “I’m Green.”

“Dawn,” the nurse shook her hand. “I can definitely prepare some travel herbs and medicine. Where are you headed?”

“Well, hard to say. Somewhere in the Western Forest…”

“Hmmm,” Dawn didn’t seem concerned by this. “Let me see what I can do,” she moved to a workspace pushed into the corner of the infirmary and started to examine the hanging herbs. “What brings you to Fort Stiofán then? Just passing through?”

“No, we’re meeting with our group of travellers. We’ll spend this day and tomorrow preparing and then make our way to the forest.” Green grinned sheepishly. “Well, now that I think of it, I am just passing through, aren’t I?” 

Dawn chuckled. “I suppose. From where did you come?”

“I’m a music teacher and storyteller from Noefrach, but I’ve been travelling the kingdom for a few months now. Is this a permanent assignment for you?”

“Me?” Dawn was starting to grind herbs. “More of a permanent volunteer position. I came here after… the second Enemy attack.”

“Ah, I see. So, what are you making me?” Green sauntered forwards, trying to get a glimpse of Dawn’s work at the table.

“A simple salve to help with wounds and stave off infection. Also echinacea for flu symptoms… feverfew for fevers… Just the basics.”

“Hhm, good. To be honest, I was never all that good with nature. I can make an instrument out of plants, but not medicine!”

Dawn smiled. “My parents taught me most of it.”

“Hmm,” a sad smile crossed Green’s lips. “My parents wanted me to be a doctor, but I guess your parent’s teaching methods were more successful than theirs.”

“Hm. We all have our own way to make in the world. The king is an example of that,” Dawn wrapped the herbs in several bundles.

“Very true!” Green glanced at the herbs. “To be honest, now that we’re actually going there, I am a little nervous. Have you ever been to the Western Forest?”

“No… I grew up near Fionport before it was Fionport - working in the sanitariums with my family. Came here after everything started.”

“It can be a truly enchanting place, but only if you know where you are and how to get back home…”

“Oh, I can be hopeless with directions.”

“Well then, be glad you haven’t recently decided to embark on a suicide mission, as I have,” Green let out a nervous chuckle.

“You aren’t going alone I hope-?” Dawn looked up from her work.

“No, not at all! That would be… good lords, I won’t even think about that! As far as I know, I’ll be accompanied by Ivy Paris, Morgana Sprewraith and Jon Quillan. I don’t think anyone else is joining us,”-  certainly not this late anyway, Green added in thought

“You are among good company, then.”

“That I am. I just hope I’ll still be when I come back.”

Dawn smiled and handed Green the bundles of herbs and the new medicines. “Follow your instinct and you will be successful. That’s what Father used to say anyway.”

“Thanks for all your help!” Green beamed at Dawn before leaving the infirmary.

[thewatchau]

Fae Hunt Chapter 3

Jumping to the 16th, and Jon Quillian belongs to @marginmaster87

Bard's Note: Eternal Thanks to @theshapeshifter100 for getting this all written up!

___***___***___

Jon Quillian wandered through the halls of Fort Stiofán looking for Ivy, chewing on a piece of bread he brought. It took him a little while, but after he didn’t find her inside the main fort, he eventually wandered out in the direction of the forge.

Ivy was indeed still in there, and at her current rate she might need one more day on the spear. The socket was taking shape and it wouldn’t be long before she could fit it to the shaft of wood. The actual spear head needed more work though, to shape and sharpen it.

Jon leaned in through the doorway, blocking off the light, and squinting until he was certain it was Ivy.

“Look’s nice, what’cha makin’?”

Ivy looked over at the door, not immediately recognising the voice. “A spear, why…?” she squinted at the person in the doorway, before remembering the voice, and face. “Jon Quillian? Why are you here?!”

“Didn’t you get my letter? I’m coming with you.”

“Yes, and I sent a reply telling you no,” Ivy stubbornly went back to her work, trying to make it clear that she didn’t want to continue this conversation. Whether it would work was another matter.

“And then I sent a reply telling you yes,” he walked into the forge and looked over her shoulder.

“I didn’t get it,” Ivy moved so he wasn’t over her shoulder. “I’ve been here all day today and yesterday,” she added through gritted teeth.

“Well, then I’ll reiterate: I’m going. I’ll try not to go alone, but I doubt I’ll find anyone else willing to go with me. You have absolutely no obligation to worry about my safety, though, so don’t worry about it!”

“I will be worrying about it anyway,” it was just another addition to the stress and nerves building in her belly. “Since I can’t seem to convince you to leave it, fine. You can stick around. Only if you get approval from everyone else who’s coming.”

“And also-” Jon stopped, confused. “Wait, you’re agreeing? Just like that?”

“You’re not giving me much of a choice, and I’m not in the mood for a fight,” Ivy slammed the hammer down a bit harder than she meant to. “If everyone else agrees, then fine. I’m not happy about it, but fine.”

“Alright,” Jon was a little cowed by her tone. “Where can I find the others? Are they meeting here?”

“Morgana is either in her room or the Archives. Green isn’t here yet.”

“Oh, okay,” he wasn’t sure who those people were, but he made a note of their names. “Do you… want some help with that spear?”

“I’m fine. It should be done by tomorrow,” Ivy used the tongs to pick up her spear head so she could get a better look at the forming shape of the socket. “There’s more metal lying around and a free anvil if you want to make something.”

“Oh, sure. Hey, is Gus going to come? He acted like he might, but you didn’t mention him just now.”

Ivy froze. She had just been thinking that she was glad he hadn’t mentioned Gus.

“Gus isn’t coming.”

“Why not? Is he busy?”

“He’s injured,” it wasn’t a lie, just, leaving out the ‘how’.

“What?” Jon looked over. “He wasn’t when we met, what happened?”

“He broke his hand, I think.”

“Oh man, that sucks… maybe I’ll send him a card or something, do you know where he is?”

“He should be back at the Hold. I haven’t talked to him in a while,” not since they fought and… his hand broke.

“Alright. I’ll do that, then,” Jon picked out some metals from the store.

Ivy nodded and picked up her half made spear. The socket was pretty much done now, just the head to finish. She looked over at Jon, who had got some metal and gotten to work. While she was still annoyed at him, she was also curious.

“What are you going to make?” she asked.

“A short sword. I don’t have one. I have a dagger and a good knife, but I feel like I’ll need something larger,” he held up the metal he’d picked out. “Fae are weak to iron, right?”

“That’s a myth. Annoyingly,” Ivy began to heat her metal again, then hammer it flat, gripping the socket with the tongs. “You do know how long it’ll take to make a sword, right?” in her experience, they could take weeks if you didn’t use a mould.

“Of course. I’ve made one before, for a Guard guy who broke his,” he sandwiched his metal and set the alloy in the forge.

“Alright. I don’t know if we’ll have the time. Just, have to wait until Green gets here,” Ivy heated up the metal again, trying to ignore butterflies in her stomach about the upcoming quest. “That’s one of the reasons I went for a spear. It’s quick.”

“That’s true, but I don’t know much about polearms. At least I’ve worked with swords before.”

“I’m not doing anything fancy, like a halberd. It’s just a basic spearhead. All I care about is it not falling apart.”

Jon chuckled. “Yeah, that’s definitely an important spear quality.”

“I’ll be enchanting it anyway, so it should hold up,” Ivy wiped some sweat off her forehead. It felt about as hot as Tandeli’s Calorona Desert in here. “How’s Beck?” she enquired after Jon’s other sister.

“She’s dead set on finishing the harvest, but she understands why I’m leaving. She’d probably come too if it weren’t for the crops.”

Ivy was suddenly glad that she wasn’t dealing with both of them. She suspected Beck would be worse than Jon on his own, let alone together.

“Well, you have to eat and make money, so… yeah,” she commented.

“We get a bit from the government for our research, but the crops definitely help. We’re growing pumpkins and beans this year.”

“For carving?” Hallow’s Eve was only two and a half months away after all.

“For carving,” Jon agreed, “but mostly for food. We’ll roast the seeds of the small ones.”

“Sounds good. What can you make with pumpkin anyway?”

“Pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie, pumpkin biscuits…” Jon listed off. “Mostly pastries, but the rest of the town has the staples covered. We’ll trade for what we need over the winter.”

“I will have to come around in winter then,” Ivy noted, provided they didn’t die. Yes, she was definitely still worried about that.

“Provided we find her by then,” Jon had different but similar thoughts. “This could take months.”

“We’ve got a plan. We know roughly where we’re going and have an idea how to get there. We’ve been planning this for months.”

“Yeah, but still… the forest is so big, and she might be in an even bigger Fae world…”

“Green has met friendly Fae before, that’s who we’re banking on. And where Jen is, we think we know. Finding her in there and getting her out will probably be the hardest part.”

It was the only part they couldn’t really prepare for. None of them had any idea what they might find.

“Yeah…” Jon stared into the fire as he heated his metal.

Ivy meanwhile hit her spearhead harder than she meant to. “We can do this,” she was mostly talking herself up. “That’s why I’m making this. I’m going to enchant this spear to disperse magic, so that should have some impact against the Fae who took her.”

“Can you enchant my sword too? I can’t… you know,” he wiggled his fingers.

“If you finish in time, then I will try to enchant it.”

“Alright, thanks,” he went back to staring at the heating metal, but his back was a little straighter. “We’re going to do this.”

“Yes. We are.”

This did not settle Ivy’s nerves much, but no one else needed to know that.

___***___***___

If you've forgotten what happened to Gus, he and Ivy got into a fight, he punched her in the face, her magic activated, which caused him to break his hand. As detailed here

[thewatchau]

Fae Hunt Chapter 1

We’re not done, but if I wait until that, nothing will get posted until next year! Hopefully this’ll act as a buffer when things pick up and slow down

Bard’s Note: The BIGGEST PREESH to @theshapeshifter100 for writing all of this. Seriously, I’m so sorry it took this long to get these posted, you have no idea how much it means to me how much y'all still care about this AU despite being in a weird writer’s block mode atm. Love you all!!

__***__***__***__

It took around two or three days to reach Fort Stiofán, the closest garrison and where most of her stuff was. When Ivy left Firefly in the stable, she shouldered her saddlebags and walked into the main building.

“Paris, message!” someone yelled from the admin desk.

“I’m not running!”

“It’s for you!”

Ivy paused, and went to collect it without really looking at it. “Thank you.”

She went up several floors to where her room was. A double room on the outer wall. Not highly prized, but given she was hardly ever here, it didn’t matter. It was a great deal for her roommate though. They had the whole room to themselves most of the time.

With a loud sigh she dropped her saddlebags on the floor and put the letter on the desk. Her roommate seemed to be out now, as an unlit candle stood on the desk with some matches next to it on the otherwise empty desk. Ivy struck one and lit the candle, shaking out the match as the wick caught.

She went to go fill her mattress, and then began to unpack her saddlebags. Her sword and shield were propped against the wall as she put her writing utensils on the table. Her Watch cloak went to the hanger on the back of the door and her rations to one end of the desk.

The final thing she took out was wrapped up in her mother’s big black cloak for Hallow’s Eve. The hagstone.

It was rough stone in the approximate shape of a triangle. The hole was near the top and had a hard a leather cord going through it. It didn’t look like much, but here it was.

Also wrapped in the cloak was some honey, which was carefully placed on the desk. There wasn’t really anywhere else to put it. The rest of the space was taken up by two chests - one of which was her roommate’s, and had a stuffed case ready to sleep on, but the other chest, which was Ivy’s, was bare.

Ivy knelt in front of her chest and unlocked it, placing the lock on the floor.

Inside was a small pouch with all the crystals Jen had given Ivy. Those joined the hagstone and cloak on the bed. That chest also had her jam in it, but she ignored it for now.

With that taken care of she moved to the desk. The letter had been more or less forgotten and Ivy leaned back in her chair to look it over. She didn’t recognise the hand and the seal was generic Watch, so that gave no clues.

She broke the seal and read the letter, heart sinking.

 –

“Ivy Paris,

You might remember me from when you returned Jen’s cart. What I didn’t say then was that I wanted to find Jen and bring her back.

Probably impossible, I know, but I can just… I can tell that she’s not dead. I want to at least try to find her. I’ve already talked to your friend Gus and he seemed to think you’d want to try. If you want to, send me a message back and we can meet at Fort Stiofán. 

Hope you had a good summer,

Jon Quillan.”

 –

Ivy felt the urge to bang her head against the desk. She could almost hear the argument she had with Gus blaring in her head. With a heavy sigh she reached for a fresh piece of paper and opened her ink pot to write a reply.

 –

“Jon Quillian,

I am aware of the discussion you and my friend Gus had, and while I sympathise, I cannot, in good conscience, agree to this.

I will bring your sister back. That I swear, but the path I am taking is a dangerous one, and while you might be willing to take it, I would prefer to bring Jen back to her whole family, if you catch my meaning.

I wish you well, and the next time I see you, your sister will be safe and sound.

Ivy Paris”

 –

She folded it and wrote Jon’s name and his village name. She moved that one side and began writing eight copies of the flyer to attract Green’s attention.

‘Ivy Paris looking for Bard Scholar Autumn Green of House Jameson. I need your assistance, I will be at Fort Stiofán. If possible, bring chocolate’

 –

Nice and vague, and Green should know what it meant. All those got put to one side and she wrote one final message.

 –

“Morgana Spewraith

We should be ready to go soon. I’ve contacted Green so come when you can.

Ivy Paris”

 –

That got folded up too and all the pieces of paper were collected and she took the long walk downstairs to the admin station. She dropped Jon’s letter and the flyers off there, before pausing by the notice board. The whole garrison had this tense atmosphere, and now she knew why.

Corrupted writing on the Festival of the Lord’s declarations.

“Dickhead,” she muttered before making her way to the Infirmary. On the way she dodged Bard Keyes screaming about maps. A standard day in Fort Stiofán.

She reached the Infirmary and leaned her head around the door.

“I’m looking for a Roisin Spewraith?”

Leafing through some medical journals and files was a young woman a little younger than Ivy, with bronze brown hair tied up in a bun. She glanced towards the door when Ivy asked for Róisín Spewraith.

“Yes? That’s me,” she paused in what she was doing, and turned to face the door, taking a few steps towards it.

Ivy raised the folded piece of parchment she was carrying. “Hi, I’ve got a message for Morgana? I’m told you’re her sister.”

Róisín smiled warmly and nodded curtly with a hum of affirmation. “I am, I can pass the message along to her once I get my break.”

“Great!” Ivy placed the letter on a table just inside the door. “How long do you think it’ll be before she can reply?” Ivy was trying to calculate how long it would take before they could leave, giving Green about three or four days.

Róisín chuckled. “Well, it depends on how deep into her work she’s gotten and whether or not she’s injured herself in the process,” she paused and placed a finger on her lips in thought. “But if I get the message to her during my break, which is an hour or so, she should be able to reply immediately if it’s urgent.”

“Oh, she’s here?” Ivy suddenly remembered. “Oh yes! She did say she’d be here around the 14th, that is the date today I think,” Ivy shifted position, leaning against the doorway as she thought. “Can you tell her to meet me in the forge? That’s where I plan to be for the rest of the day.”

Róisín nodded again. “Of course! Anything else?”

Ivy frowned for a second before shaking her head. “I don’t think so,” she stood awkwardly before clearing her throat. “I should let you get back to… whatever it was you were doing,” she moved from the doorframe and began to leave.

Róisín picked up the letter from the table and placed it into one of her pockets. “Right, well it was lovely to meet you…” she turned to continue her leafing from where she left off.

Ivy left the room properly, wandered out of the castle and into the courtyard before the outer walls. She had an idea of what she wanted to do now, partially to kill time if she was honest.

The enchantment she had been learning to cast would diffuse magic, and while she knew enchantments weren’t permanent, she couldn’t bring herself to enchant her old weapons. She was probably being sentimental, but that’s how it was. Forging something new would keep her occupied.

Something simple, like a spear. The only metal working required would be the head, which would be quick to finish, only a few days. First things first, a shaft. She found and cut down a branch of wood outside of the garrison that was the right height and width, then brought it back in to trim and strip.

___***___***___

I’m not sure I realised at the time how much Em yelling about maps would date this. 14th August 1614, I believe shit was going down that day

Róisín Spewraith belongs to the wonderful @shamrockace, as does Morgana

Bard’s Note: Can I just say how much I love how Holly puts this world onto the page when she writes? Like the details about filling the mattress just make my heart so happy. Also, “A standard day in Fort Stiofán” made me CACKLE.

[thewatchau]

Fading Distortions

Fellow Watchers,

I write with news that is both good and bad in equal measure. The distortions which appeared on the declarations for the Festivals of the Lords have begun to fade. Only a few still remain on the announcements regarding Lord Jackie, Lord Brody, and Lord Marvin. 

This is not the first time The Watch has discovered signs that evolve over time, then vanish. In Summer 1605, amidst the raids following the Overnight Defense, a message believed to be from Lord Schneeplestein was discovered by The Watch. Over the course of several days, blood would appear on the message in increasing amounts, only for the entire page to eventually turn blank. Only copies now remain in the archives of Fort Stiofán and Fort Conchúr. 

A little information can be gleaned from this development. Namely, if the previous development did not convince anyone that this string of events has come to an end, the vanishing distortions leaves little room for doubt. Why it has ended is up for debate, as I detailed in my previous report.

While some wonder if this development also indicates that The Enemy’s strength or affect over the missing lords is waning, I would hold such hope loosely. As seen in the past, The Enemy enjoys taunting us with hints of his doings, only to snatch the clues away once we’ve latched onto them. 

Even so, we must hold out hope that the lords will prevail against this threat. 

With Anticipation,

Bard Emily Keyes

Written to Fellow Members of The Watch in the Eighth Month of the Year One Thousand Six Hundred and Fourteen

[thewatchau]

Tests and Targets

Fellow Watchers,

Since last night, three new developments have taken place in The Enemy’s new devilry, both of which arguably hold the most concerning implications we’ve uncovered for The Enemy’s plans yet.

First, a new phrase was discovered written along the bottom of the declarations for Lord Schneeplestein’s week. “Test Failure.” It is unclear what test this refers too, nor whose fault the failure belongs to. 

In addition, the word “passed” was distorted next to the name of Lord Jameson in another declaration. Together, they imply that, whatever test was failed in regards to Lord Schneeplestein, Lord Jameson passed. 

Many suspect this is a reference to the infamous message The Watch received in December, which ended with the words, “You passed the test. Now let’s move on to the next [phase].” 

What test did Lord Jameson and The Watch pass, but Lord Schneeplestein fail? That question has been at the forefront of The Watch’s mind as we’ve scrambled to uncover the answer before it is too late.

However, this evening, the plot has thickened yet again. The phrase “test failure” has vanished from Lord Schneeplestein’s declaration. Does this mean he too, has passed? And what does that mean for his fate and that of Lord Jameson?

In addition, the announcements for Lords Jameson, Schneeplestein, Jackie, and Brody have become yet more corrupted. The most horrifying of these changes was discovered on Lord Brody’s declaration, where the words “Magnificent” and “Marvin” were distorted to near illegibility. 

Lord Marvin’s declaration has yet to be distorted, but it is clear The Enemy has set his sights upon the magnificent lord. Many in The Watch believe that Lord Marvin is actively fighting back against The Enemy from the shadows, resisting his unnatural magic with powers of his own in an attempt to save his brethren. 

We do not know why our leaders have chosen to shelter us from this conflict and face The Enemy alone, nor why The Enemy has decided to reveal this silent war to us now. All we know is our duty; to help Lord Marvin and the other lords in any way we can. 

Until we find a way to turn the tide of this battle, this leaves us with but one option; to Keep The Watch.

With Anticipation,

Bard Emily Keyes

Written to Fellow Members of The Watch in the Eighth Month of the Year One Thousand Six Hundred and Fourteen

UPDATE: 

*A hastily scrawled message is tacked on beneath the main report, as if the writer had already prepared to send the report before more news arrived*

THE ENEMY’S FACE HAS APPEARED WHERE LORD JACKIE’S FACE VANISHED YESTERDAY ON THE LATTER’S DECLARATION.

NO ONE KNOWS WHAT IT MEANS YET, BUT IT’S TOO SIGNIFICANT TO WAIT FOR THE NEXT REPORT. 

KEEP THE WATCH

*a messy ink-spill signs the bottom of the message*

[thewatchau]

WORSENING SIGNS

Fellow Watchers,

I’m sure you are all familiar now with the extremely concerning circumstances we face this week. Unsurprisingly, it’s gotten worse.

As expected, the declaration announcing the Festival of the Lords for Lord Jameson was the next to be distorted, but these distortions appeared far earlier than The Watch had anticipated. 

We predicted that we’d see the declaration regarding Lord Jackie become more distorted over the course of today, with Lord Jameson’s declaration being effected tomorrow. 

Instead, not only has The Enemy already moved on to corrupting those announcements of Lord Jameson’s week, but more distortions have appeared on those declarations previously affected: Lord Schneeplestein and Lord Jackie.

Originally, The Watch believed that The Enemy was imitating the Festivals of the Lords, each of which spanned the course of one week. We thought he would spend each day attacking one specific declaration, culminating with some final demonstration of power on the sixth and/or seventh days of the week.

Clearly, The Enemy’s real timeline for this week (or longer) is far faster than we had anticipated. This has very troubling implications for The Enemy’s potential plans. There is no reason to believe he won’t corrupt the last two declarations, but what then?

At this rate, The Enemy would have three to four days left before the end of the week after corrupting each declaration. After that, will he simply continue to intensify the distortions, as we saw today on the declarations for Lord Schneeplestein and Lord Jackie? Or does he have bigger plans for those days?

The latter possibility is why we have teams of watchers frantically searching these distortions for any hint of a message or clue about The Enemy’s plans. With raids coming from all sides in the recent months, we have no idea how The Enemy will finally bring this “next phase” to a head. 

As of writing this message, all attempts to discover a hidden message within these distortions have been inconclusive at best. While these efforts will continue, The Watch has also begun deploying teams of watchers to analyze the specific phrases distorted in each declaration.

These new distortions are the most intense we’ve seen since these magical effects began to appear earlier this week, sometimes obscuring the original text almost to the point of being illegible. The names of each lord have been especially affected, along with concerning terms such as “conflicting,” “passed,” “inspiration,” and “personal.” 

Even if we cannot anticipate every detail of The Enemy’s plans, discovering the importance or connections between these distorted terms will bring us one step closer to foiling his plot. 

Forgive me for the length of this message. As the situation intensifies, so too do the possible implications for the future of Duilintinn and The Watch. I do not doubt I will be back with another report before the sun rises tomorrow morning. 

As always, until then, Keep The Watch.

With Anticipation,

Bard Emily Keyes

Written to Fellow Members of The Watch in the Eighth Month of the Year One Thousand Six Hundred and Fourteen

[thewatchau]

HIGH ALERT

Fellow Watchers,

Yesterday I sent out a report regarding the blatant signal of The Enemy discovered on the first declaration regarding the Festivals of the Lords. 

Today more distortions were discovered. It has been confirmed by multiple watchers that these magical effects are new, and have appeared since the distortions were discovered last night. 

Watchers across the kingdom are working diligently even as we speak to glean from these distortions any hints of whats yet to come, as well as uncover their source. Reports vary; some say that there is no conclusive message hidden in today’s additions, while others believe the word “month” can be found within. 

However, these claims are only based upon surface level investigations. Other theories are being tested at every garrison and outpost of The Watch. As a bard, such investigations are outside of my area of expertise, so I asked my good friend Mage Vio Stormcaller* of Fort Stiofán for her insight on the matter. 

According to Mage Stormcaller, one major theory is that the full message within these distortions will be revealed over the course of several days, at which point, it may need to be decoded by researchers and/or mages of The Watch. 

Teams of watchers experienced in magical and mundane code-breaking have been deployed to investigate further. I will update when new information has been discovered. In the meantime, Keep The Watch.

With Anticipation,

Bard Emily Keyes

Written to Fellow Watchers in the Eighth Month of the Year One Thousand Six Hundred and Fourteen

*@viostormcaller