Chapter 11

Characters introduced in the next two chapters:

Master Fiacha

Owner / Master of Fantstown Castle, 5'-5" tall, middle aged, overweight and balding

Having prepared the place to receive the tree, I transferred back to the castle outside of the cell that held Master Eogham. Even this far along, I was still hesitant to continue, and stopped for a time to consider my choices. Nothing that I thought of would change what needed to be done. The Ancient Wizard was correct. A powerful Summoner was the one thing necessary to recall the ancient gods of the Picts. Without him, they could never succeed, assuming that they didn't have another just as powerful. I could only conclude that I must proceed as planned. After several deep breaths and strengthening my resolve, I transferred into the cell.

Master Eogham was still under the influence of the freeze spell that the Ancient Wizard had cast on him. I touched the correct projecting stone in the wall and it opened. Immediately the Wizard's image appeared again, and I heard his words.

"So, you are prepared to take up the challenge. Use your skill to move the seed to the Summoner and implant it. Remember: do not under any circumstances physically touch the seed yourself. I wish you continued good fortune, as you take up this challenge," he finished, and the image and voice ceased to exist, but the cavity remained open.

I reached in with my Magical senses and could detect the seed in there. It had dreamed there for a very long time in the cold, and now the little bit of warmth seeping into the cavity awakened it and gave it hope. It felt my Magic touch and reached out for the source, but I had my wards up, and it could not penetrate them with its small amount of Magic.

I was then ready to start the transfer. It was only a distance of around five feet that I needed to move the seed, and it called for only the tiniest bit of my power. Still I was worried. Screwing up here could have monumental consequences. I carefully transferred the seed using my Magic Beams to lift it and move it to Master Eogham on the platform. The seed used its small amount of Magic to pass through the freeze spell and into Master Eogham, who of course did not notice.

I cast one of his own wards around Eogham and the seed, then transferred myself and them back to the swale where the Prolate Spheroid waited. After materializing inside it, I carefully canceled the freeze spell. Eogham looked around to see where he was on awakening.

"Where are we? What are you doing?" he demanded, his demand but a whisper.

"I have brought you to your final resting place. You have received the last remaining seed of the 'Tree of Life'. It is growing inside of you even as we speak. It will first grow downward into the earth to establish its root system there. To do that it will begin to consume you from the inside.

"Once it is established, it will begin to grow upwards nourished by its roots and by what it will still be absorbing from you. You will remain conscious throughout all of this and the tree will use your eyes and brain to determine its location and the seasons. It will not allow you die. It will feed your brain and such other parts that it requires as it becomes established, but it will consume all of you that is nonessential -- to it. You will have a very long time to consider all of your failings, or so I have been informed by the 'Book of Dreams'," I told him.

Eogham screamed like a madman on hearing this, and realizing what it meant. He fought against the wards holding him, but, of course, it did him no good. The tree would eventually cancel the weak ward that held him prisoner as it wouldn't require it, but it would be much too late by then to help him. The tree would not prevail against my stronger wards. I would check on them both occasionally to be certain that the wards remained intact. I could already see the roots of the tree dropping toward the ground from inside Eogham's robe before I transferred back to the ground floor of the tower. Eamon was waiting there for me.

"Is it done?" he asked when I appeared, and his voice shook.

"Yes, I have finished. The tree has begun to grow. In a few days, have someone clean out the cell. I will cancel the wards on it, and it can be used as a cold storage room again," I told him, and canceled the wards around the cell.

"Come upstairs with me," I next requested. "I have things to tell you and something to give you." The yett to the stairwell was closed and locked. The lock opened as did the yett as we approached, and then closed behind us after we passed it.

"How do you do that?" he asked in wonder.

"My Great Grandmothers taught us children how to do that. It really doesn't take much Talent," I told him, as we continued up the stairs.

"Tell me, Eamon, what expenses do you foresee during the next three weeks to a month?" I asked after we were seated in the third floor apartment, which I now considered mine.

"There is the pay for the guards and those working here at the castle; but, it is a minor expense. There are repairs that I would like to undertake, but they could be put off for a time yet. The taxes to our Overlord are due after the harvest, so there is time for that yet," he told me. "Why?" he asked after he had finished.

"I will leave some money with you to cover the normal expenses while I am gone, and for any emergencies that may occur," I told him, and then rose and walk over to the chest with the gold in it. I reached in after opening it, and picked up a hand full of the coins. Eamon was staring into the chest, and a look of shock showed on his face.

"The gods above!! Where did all of that come from?" he managed to ask in a whisper.

"Eogham has had it here for some time apparently," I told him.

"Damn that tightfisted bastard!!" Eamon cursed vehemently. "He always claimed that we were nearly insolvent, and he had all of this gold all of the time. The people here received little enough in pay for their work, but didn't complain, as they feared him. They also thought that there wasn't any more money from all of their work, and all of this time he has been accumulating all of this!" he finished in disgust.

"Give everyone a raise. Use some of it for the repairs, and whatever else you believe necessary," I told him, as I handed him some of the coins.

"Thank you, Master Ken. You are indeed a most generous Lord," Eamon said, as he placed the coins in a small wallet that he carried on the belt at his waist.

"We will be ready to leave shortly after Sunshine returns, and we finish packing. I will need some grain for the horses if you have any to spare. We can get more along the way," I told him.

"I will have everything in readiness for you, Master Ken," he assured me before he departed with a much lighter step than when we arrived here.

Sunshine returned a short time after Eamon had left.

"Is it done?" she asked in an anxious voice on seeing me.

"Yes. I finished some time ago."

"Is ... is he dead?"

"No, he will live for some time yet. Well, he will be alive -- sort of -- but I wouldn't really call it living," I told her, but didn't go any farther. She didn't need, or want, to know the details.

"We need to finish packing," I told her after that.

"The saddlebags that I found will hold quite a lot and spread the load among all of the horses, so the pack horse isn't overloaded," she told me in a bright voice.

We collected all that we would be taking with us. It wasn't really all that much. I still had my backpack, and put some things in it along with a number of the gold coins from the chest. They would be used for any emergencies that might come up on our trip.

Sunshine packed a spare robe and some underwear in the saddlebags. She had really come to like having the robe on since moving up here with me. The other robes, dresses, towels and some blankets went into a bundle on the floor. The jewelry went into a leather wallet that she had acquired somewhere and carried with her. There wasn't all that much that we were taking with us.

"How are the wounded?" I asked her, as we finished our preparations.

"They are doing well, even the young girl who was so hurt. They will be fine now thanks to what the 'Book of Dreams' has taught me," she told me, as she gazed at the copper tub near the fireplace.

"No!" I said. "We can't take it with us."

"Could I bathe in it again? I don't know when I'll get another chance to bathe."

"Certainly!" I said, and drew water and heated it for her. She was soon relaxing in the hot water and soaping herself up. I would have loved to help her, but would wait for now. When we had returned home, and I had introduced her to showers, there would be plenty of time to help her soap up and rub it into her skin for a while. I was as hard as a rock just thinking about it.

"This is so wonderful!" she said with a broad smile.

"When we reach my house, you can bathe every day," I assured her with a smile. I washed up after she was finished, and then sent the water out to irrigate the fields.

"Are you ready?" I asked after we had both redressed.

"Yes ... I guess so! I have spent all of my life here. It will seem strange leaving it all for somewhere else," she told me in a sad voice.

"Don't worry. We'll be back. We won't be gone all that long," I assured her before recasting my strongest wards around the area of our apartment. Following that, I transferred us, and our things, down to the bawn.

Eamon was there with Captain O'Carroll, our horses, and several men to help us load everything. The Cook brought out a basket of food for us to take along, and I put the food in my horse's saddlebags.

"Be very careful, my Lord. We would miss you greatly if you were not to return," Eamon cautioned us.

"Rest assured that we will be back," I told all of those gathered there, and the others listening farther away.

Sunshine had been staring strangely at the horse that had been brought out for her to ride.

"NO, I can't ride this horse," she told us after a few seconds.

"But it was Master Eogham favorite horse and the best one in our stable," Captain O'Carroll told her.

"No, it's too wild. I will select another horse," she told him, and headed off in the direction of the stable. I followed along behind her with another man who was leading the rejected horse.

We found Sunshine in the stable checking each of the horses there. She finally wrapped her arms around one horse in particular, and then led it out of its stall.

"I'll take this one," she said with a smile. I reached out and checked the horse. Its health was good for an older horse. Its teeth were still all right, and the shoes that it wore were nearly new.

"Okay!" I agreed. "You can ride this horse," The stableman quickly transferred the gear to the new horse before the other one was put in a stall. We led the new horse out to where the others waited.

"That is the foal of your mother's favorite horse. Though she seldom rode her, she visited her often," Eamon told us.

"Yes, I know. Mother took us to see her a number of times, and I remember her. Her foal is as gentle as she was," Sunshine told him with a smile.

With everything loaded, I shook hands with Eamon and Captain O'Carroll. They found the practice a little strange but didn't complain. I helped Sunshine up on her horse, and then mounted my own. Many of those at the castle were up on the walkways now to watch us depart. There were a number of villagers outside the walls also to bid us goodbye. We waved to all of them, as we continued down the road on our search.

When we reached the swale between the two hills, I stopped and dismounted then helped Sunshine down from her horse.

"Why have we stopped here, my Ken?" she asked, as I sat her down.

"When I spoke with Eamon about how to get to Kilmallock and Fantstown castle, he gave me directions for a route that retraced part of the way I had used coming here. Later when I asked Captain O'Carroll, he gave me a different route that is south of the route that Eamon gave me.

"We can save about five miles of travel by using Eamon's directions, as I can transfer us back to the point where I turned off to come to Killeedy," I told her. "Unfortunately, I don't know just how long either route actually is."

"You should use the one that cuts the distance," she told me after a little consideration. "Both routes should be near the same length, but if you can cut off five miles that one must be shorter."

"Okay!" I told her. "We need to allow the horses to get a short drink from the stream, and then we must calm them down before I start the transfer," I told her.