Chapter 14

In the morning I awoke to two loving wives kissing me. We were still in bed at the cottage in the Otherworld, so none of this had been a dream. I shaved in water that I had heated with a spell, while my wives prepared our breakfast. After eating, my wives chanted a cleaning spell to get the entire house clean before we left for a last bath in the pool here. On returning we donned our regular outside clothes and waited for Brian to appear. He arrived shortly with two of the men that guard the entrance to the Otherworld.

"We haven't had the portal open in some while," Brian told us. "And we wanted to be sure that everything is as it should be. Are you ready to go?"

"Yes. We're ready," I told him somewhat sadly. We had really enjoyed ourselves while here, and would miss the relaxed easy lifestyle, but there were other important things that required doing.

"My wives have something for you," I added, as the sisters moved forward.

"For all that you have done for us while we were here, and for all of the kindness you have shown us, we have this gold for you," Katie told him, as Margie handed Brian a leather bag with five of the 100 gram gold biscuit bars in it - a bit more than one pound of gold.

"Thank you," Brian said in surprise, as he accepted the gift and hung it from the belt of his robe. "It has been a pleasure to have you here with us, and you have certainly improved the quality of the ale while you have been here."

"Aye, we'll agree to that," both guards said with large grins, speaking for the first time.

"Do you have everything?" Brian asked.

"Yes, we have everything. We're ready," I assured him while looking around the cottage that had been our home since arriving here.

We picked up our backpacks, and I helped my wives get theirs settled before putting on my own. We followed Brian and the guards back to the shining portal where Brian recited a spell to open it. We could see that dawn was just melting away the darkness of the night on the other side of the portal as it broke over the hill of Kesh Corran.

"I'll transport you to the top of the hill. There is a wonderful view from there as the sun rises and reveals the surrounding area.," Brian told us, as the two guards passed through the portal with drawn swords to check the area for any trouble. We followed when they gave the all clear.

"We'll leave you now. Enjoy the view from the top of the hill, and return when you can. We'll feel your return and open the portal if necessary for you to enter," Brian told us before we found ourselves on top of Kesh Corran Hill.

The view there, as dawn broke over the surrounding countryside, was as breathtaking as he had said it was. Kesh Corran is the highest summit in the Bricklieve / Curlew area. There are great views from it of Carrowkeel with its various cairns and tombs. Loughs Arrow, Skean, and Meelagh were visible to the east, and across Lough Arrow to the northeast the rising sun picked out three large successive ranges of hills.

My wives sat close to me there on the ground for some time and we enjoyed the view as the sun rose on that bright warm August day. Finally, with the sun well up in the sky we prepared to leave. But having no desire to walk the entire 11 km back to Castlebaldwin, I used a spell to move us to a road intersection that we could see a kilometer or so from the village. It was just a short stroll from there to the house of Fergus Feeney. When we arrived there it was about eight in the morning, we could see Patrick O'Brian's car parked near by.

"Good morning to you," Mrs. Feeney said on opening the door and seeing us, after we knocked.

"Good morning," we all answered, as we entered the house.

"Ah ... good morning, good morning to ya," Fergus said, as he rose from the table. "And did you have a good stay?"

"Oh, yes!" Margie answered. "And the druid married us before we left."

"Married you, you say?" Fergus asked in surprise.

"Yes, both Margie and I are married to Mark," Katie told him.

"Two wives!? Fergus stammered.

"Yes, it's not unusual in the Otherworld," Margie assured him with a smile.

"Good morning," Patrick managed to slip in while Fergus remained stunned.

"Would you have a bit of breakfast?" Mrs. Feeney asked. "It wouldn't be a problem to make."

"No, thank you," Katie told her. "We had breakfast some time ago, but I believe a spot of ale would go good now to wash the dust of the trip from our throats. Would all of you join us?"

"The pub here isn't open yet, and they don't carry ale, just mostly Guinness," Fergus said in a somewhat disgussed voice.

"Oh, we'll supply the ale," Margie said with a big smile, as both sisters closed their eyes and recited a spell together.

Instantly four brawny, hairy gnomes appeared, each with an oak firkin on his shoulder. (Firkin - a wooden cask used for ale and beer. It contains 9 imperial gallons or 72 pints of ale or beer.) One firkin was already tapped and the chief gnome placed it on the table and used two chocks to keep it from rolling.

"Just leave the others by the door, if you please," Margie told the other gnomes. After depositing the casks there, those three departed simply by disappearing.

"Mr. Feeney, this is one of the chief brewers from the Otherworld. We have a financial proposition for you after we all have a taste of this ale. Have you any glasses?" Katie asked.

"Oh, aye," Mrs Feeney answered and produced seven glasses from the cupboard. Katie expertly filled them from the firkin on the table. Once everyone had a glass, Katie spoke again.

"Here's to O'Connell's Irish Ale!" she said and took a sip. We all followed suit. Fergus and Patrick took one, and another, and then another, and a look of amazement spread across their faces as we watched.

"The saints preserve me," Fergus muttered. "Where did you get this!?"

"Aye!" Patrick seconded, "Where did you get this? And can you get more - a lot more?"

"Those three casks by the door also contain O'Connell's ale. One is for Aengus, and the other two are for the Keys and Crown. They are free samples to advertise the return of O'Connell's Ale. Now we need to talk about distribution and sales," Katie told them getting down to business.

"But where is it brewed?" Patrick asked, and then eyed the gnome, who was smiling.

"It's brewed in the Otherworld and that's the problem. We need to establish a distribution system and get someone to take care of the various government regulations and paperwork," Margie told them.

"Mr. O'Seanassaigh can deliver the wooden casks here, but a small commercial building would be better. We need someone who is known to the Aos Si to take charge of receiving them and moving them from here. Also to take care of the paperwork needed. There will need to be trucks to move it from here to Dublin or where ever the ale is to be sold," Katie told them.

"Since the Aos Si are familiar with Mr. Feeney already, we suggested that he be their contact here and run the distribution center," Katie told them. "What do you think, Fergus?"

"Aye ... Fergus. I like that name," the gnome said.

"You would be Mr. O'Seanassaigh then?" Fergus asked.

"It's as good a name as any," the gnome replied, noncommittally.

"We can supply the transportation," Patrick assured us with a grin. "How much ale can you supply?"

"We can supply the equivalent of fifteen barrels a week or thirty Kilderkin to start," the gnome told them. (Ale barrels hold 36 imperial gallons and a Kilderkin is half that.)

"Yes, the kil (Kilderkin) might be best - not too heavy to move by hand," Patrick told him from experience. "Are those oak casks?" he asked next.

"Aye," the gnome answered, "And enchanted to keep the ale fresh. We need to have them returned here too. We only have a limited number and they're expensive."

"Yes, but that would only be six kil for each of our pubs per week - that's not a lot," Patrick said.

"It should be enough to get you started," Katie told him and added, "O'Connell's Ale will be sold at a premium price, so it will be worth your while. The brewers also need you to order and deliver certain brewing supplies as partial payment for the ale, but all of that doesn't need to be worked out today."

"Are you interested in being the point of contact here, Fergus?" Margie asked.

"I'm your man, if it means I get to drink this fine ale all of the time," Fergus said, as he finished his pint.

The next several hours were spent in arranging the setup of the distribution point, the delivery and pricing schedule. Fergus's firkin was closer to empty by the time we were finished, but the gnome promised him another one with the first delivery. Consequently, it was nearly noon before we loaded in Patrick's car with the three casks of O'Connell's Ale and left for Dublin.

It was a bit after 2:00 PM when we reached Aengus's house outside Dublin. We were greeted again with the same warmth that we had been previously. Afterward, Patrick brought in one of the casks and spoke to his father, while we went up to change clothes. When we returned to the study, Aengus was sampling the ale from the newly tapped firkin there on his bar. My wives had cast a spell to keep all three casks cool while we traveled.

"You've done it!!" Aengus exclaimed in joy, as we entered the room. "This is even better than the O'Connell's Ale that I remember. Patrick tells me that we are scheduled to get fifteen barrels a week to start. This will be a big seller, and we are sure to need more than that," he finished.

"Yes," Katie said in answer. "The brewers are still expanding their facilities and require more supplies to increase production. They will eventually be able to supply you with larger quantities, but never enough to supply even half the pubs in Ireland. They aren't Guinness, and every batch is brewed by a Master Brewer with centuries of experience. It was from them that we got the original recipe for O'Connell's Ale, and then we tweaked it a little."

"Yes, Patrick mentioned the brewing supplies. That shouldn't be a problem with our family's connections. We could probably supply more oak for casks also," Aengus told us as he sipped more of his ale.

"We would like to go into the Keys and Crown tonight when O'Connell's Irish Ale is introduced to see how it's received," Margie told Aengus.

"Yes, you should be there," Aengus agreed. "Patrick is going to take the remaining two firkin in this afternoon to get everything ready for the presentation tonight. My regular chauffeur will take you in early this evening and wait to bring you back later."

We had a late lunch then, as it had been many hours since breakfast, and we had enjoyed a good bit of ale already. Aengus always sets a very fine table.

After a short nap and a shower, we all dressed to go to the Keys and Crown for a time. Aengus's regular chauffeur delivered us to the Keys and Crown just before seven that evening. The usual crowd was gathered there and anticipated our arrival.