Chapter 17

I awoke in the morning to find Sunshine and Rose intertwined, hugging and kissing each other passionately.

"It's so good to have you back. I missed you so," Sunshine whispered to her twin.

"Yes, it is good to feel your arms around me again," Rose whispered back. It was shortly after this that the Sisters became aware that I was awake. Sunshine appeared to be afraid of me finding them like this.

"Please do not draw the wrong conclusion from this, my Ken," she asked looking over at me. "I so missed the comfort of my Sister when she disappeared. There was no other there to help me stay warm in the winter, or to console me when things went wrong. I was all alone for so very long, but now you have returned my sweet Sister to me."

"I understand completely," I told her. "My Cousin Kell and I each have three sets of twin Sisters, and I know how close they are," I told them. Both young women then turned and moved as necessary to cuddle up on either side of me. I pulled both of them to me and found their presence very comforting. It reminded me of when we were all young children and my two Mage Sisters and sometimes Kell's would cuddle up to me, their big Brother, for comfort.

The feeling was the same now, only these girls weren't my Sisters, who had stopped doing that as we grew older, and they found others to comfort them. No, these young women would soon be my Wives, and this feeling could continue for a very long, long time, I realized. I held them until we were disturbed some time later by a knocking on the door of the screen wall.

"Breakfast, my Lord," someone said from the other side of the screen wall.

"Just a minute!" I called loudly, and my voice woke both girls who sat up with me.

"Thank you, my Ken," both women whispered. "We needed that." Perhaps they had felt my comfort at their being there, I wasn't sure. We all got out of bed and slipped into some robes. I lowered the wards in the screen wall and opened the door to admit those outside. Tirlogh, the cook, brought in a tray with large bowls of hot steaming porridge and buttered bread plus a dish with more fried fish, and placed all of it on the table. The Castellan followed with a pitcher of milk.

"Thank you," I told them, as they prepared to depart.

"Please return in a-half hour or so. There are things that I need to discuss with you before we leave," I told the Castellan.

"Yes, certainly, my Lord," he replied before they returned to their other activities.

As soon as they had departed, both women rushed to the garderobe down the hall to take care of their morning business. I sampled the porridge while they were busy, and then went to take care of my own morning business. On finishing, I ensured that everything had gone to the cesspool that my Mage senses had detected the previous day.

Rose ate not only her entire bowl of porridge and the bread, but the entire dish of fish before she stopped and took a deep breath. She looked a lot better this morning, but it would take her a good while to recover completely and to attain the same size and shape as her twin. We had finished dressing for our return to Limerick when there was a knock on the door of the screen wall again. I had already returned the copper tub to our room at the hotel.

"Enter!" I called, and the Castellan came through the door.

"You wished to speak to me, my Lord?" he asked.

Yes, Castellan. What is your name? I dislike addressing you by your title all of the time," I told him.

"It is all right, my Lord. I'm quite used to it by now. My name is Turlogh O'Laghlen. My family has been the Castellans here for four generations," he told me with pride.

"I see. Have you any writing skills, Turlogh?" I asked.

"Yes, my Lord. I write very well."

"You needn't address me as my Lord all of the time. Ken is what I am usually called, and Master Ken will be fine most of the time," I told him before continuing. "You will need to send a letter to your Overlord advising him of the demise of Master Teige. It would be good to mention in the letter that he was a practitioner of Black Magic. He was also a practitioner of Necrophilia," I told him.

"Yes, that is easy to believe. The local villagers have adopted the practice of burying their dead the evening that they die and in a very deep hole. They mourn them later, but without a proper wake. I believe that he was also a pedophile. The villagers all keep their children close to them and always away from him. It is one of the reasons that the mansion is closed down, as few will work here now. This castle had many gay times and festivities in the past under different owners, but all of that stopped when Master Teige came here.

"I had been anxious to marry before he came here, but wouldn't subject a wife, or children to life around him. Perhaps I will reconsider that now," he told me.

"I'm sure that your Overlord will find someone to replace him. He will have gotten several similar letters in the past week or so," I finished.

"Do you have access to funds to take care of expenses until the new owner arrives? I haven't had time to search for his treasure," I told him.

"Yes, Master Ken. There is a hidden compartment behind the wainscot where the previous owners have hidden their strong boxes. There is another in the mansion that Master Teige didn't know about. We'll be fine," he assured me, but looked uncomfortable about something.

"What is it?" I asked, sensing his anxiety.

"You mentioned last night that your ladies were from Glenquin Castle. It could be only a coincidence, but a number of years ago I heard that the Master of Dyster O'Dea Castle had taken a new Wife, and that she was from Glenquin Castle. Perhaps it was only a rumor, but I thought it strange at the time and had forgotten about it until you mentioned the castle last night. I've never mentioned it to anyone else before, especially not to Master Teige," he told me. I could almost hear the 'Book of Dreams' in his explanation. Both Sister had heard this last and had perked right up immediately.

"Yes! Master Leif, the Chart-maker, mentioned that castle. Do you know its location?" I asked him.

"It is a short distance north of Ennis. The River Fergus empties into the Shannon Estuary at Ennis," Turlogh told me.

"Thank you. We will check this out. The Sisters never knew what happened to their Mother, when she disappeared some ten years ago," I told him, before adding, "We are prepared to leave now."

"We will signal for a boat for you," Turlogh told us. "One should be here in an hour or so."

"I'm afraid that we are in a bit of a hurry, and my Wife isn't fond of boat trips. We'll just use Magic to return to Limerick and go to Ennis from there," I told a very shocked Castellan.

"You can actually do that?" he asked on recovering.

"Oh yes. As long as I am familiar with the destination that isn't a problem," I told him. The Sisters had already gathered our things, and as I finished talking Sunshine handed me my backpack. They had the two saddlebags. We all descended to the courtyard formed by the castle, the mansion, and the seawalls overlooking the bay. Turlogh and the other men from the castle had followed us out, and watched as I cast the transfer spell and traced its glyph in the air. The Sisters moved closer to me before I added Magic to the glyph, and we three disappeared from Carrigaholt Castle.

We reappeared on the street outside our hotel, startling several people. Connor was at the desk again this morning, when we entered the hotel's lobby, and I collected our room key from him. He was a bit shocked to see two women with me. Upstairs in the room after passing through my wards, I told the twins what I proposed to do.

"I'll go to the stable and get the horses while you repack everything. We'll go down to the quay when I get back to find a ship to take us to Ennis," I told them. At the very mention of another boat trip, both women looked sick.

"Must we?" Sunshine asked in a distraught voice.

"How else are we to get there? I've never been there before," I told them.

"Couldn't you go there by yourself and then return here for us?" Rose asked. She didn't appear to feel any better than Sunshine had at the prospect of another trip on the Estuary.

"I suppose that I could do that," I told them, and considered the idea for a time before realizing that it could have some advantages.

"That might be the thing to do," I told them after a little thought. "I would only need a small ship if it were just me with no one else, or the horses to take along, and it would be easier to find one quickly," I told them.

"Yes, that sounds good, and we could rest here while you're gone," Sunshine told me. In the meantime Rose was looking around the room.

"Is there anything to eat here?" she asked.

"There are several places that serve food nearby, but I don't know if the hotel would serve us anything at this time of the morning. We always ate breakfast earlier here," I reminded her.

"I'll go down to the kitchen and see," Sunshine volunteered. "Will you be leaving now, or should I order for three?" she asked. I was rearranging the contents of my backpack, as she asked.

"I'm leaving. Even though it's still early in the day, I'm not sure how long it will take me to get to Ennis," I told her before handing her some coins from my backpack to use if they needed to go out to eat. I gave both Sisters a long kiss before going downstairs with Sunshine, who went toward the hotel's kitchen while I left for the quay.

On reaching Merchants' Quay, I spent some time looking for the 'Aine' and Captain O'Sullivan but saw neither.

"Are you looking for a particular ship, young Master?" an older man asked, after noting my inspection of the ships along the quay.

"Yes, I was looking for Captain O'Sullivan and the 'Aine'," I told him.

"He sailed a short time ago on the morning tide," the man told me. "Was he to wait for you?"

"No, it's just that I know Captain O'Sullivan and was seeking his advice on a ship going to Ennis today," I told him.

"Ennis, you say! There are a couple of ships that make daily, or weekly trips between Ennis and Limerick," he told me, as he looked over the various ships tied up at the quay.

"There is one," he told me, and led me toward a small ship. It wasn't more than thirty-five feet long and fairly narrow. It was built more for speed than for cargo capacity. There was a tall, heavy set man approaching the ship also.

"Captain O'Kearney, are you bound back to Ennis today?" the older man called in a strong voice.

"Aye, Harbor Master. That I am," the Captain answered.

"Can you accommodate a passenger, Captain?" the man, who I now knew to be the Harbor Master, asked.

"Aye, that won't be a problem. We'll be leaving as soon as my crew returns," he told the Harbor Master. "A paying passenger?" he remembered to ask.

"Yes, Captain," I replied.

"Come aboard then, young Master. Who are you visiting in Ennis?" the Captain inquires, as I boarded the ship.

"I'm on my way to Dyster O'Dea Castle in search of someone," I informed him.

"There are several stables on the outskirts of Ennis where you will be able to rent a horse," he told me, as he spotted several men walking, if a bit unsteadily, down the quay toward the ship.

"Hurry along there," he called to them very unhappily on seeing their condition.

"How do they manage it every time that we come here?" he asked of no one in particular.

"Will their condition be a problem?" I asked.

"Not after we get the sails set and are out into the main channel," he told me.

"I could sober them up, but it will come as a bit of a shock to their bodies," I told him.

"Let me see how bad they are first," the Captain returned, as the men neared the ship. Once on board, it was evident that the three of them were really drunk this time.

"You're a sorry lot," the Captain told them before turning to me.

"I would appreciate whatever you can do to improve their condition," he told me, shaking his head. I just smiled.

"Very well, Captain," I replied, and cast a spell to sober them up. The resultant shock on the faces of the men, and their rush to the outboard rail of the ship were a sight to behold. I used the hangover spell after that to clear their heads.

"Can you work?" the Captain demanded of them after that.

"Aye, Captain," the three replied, but all looked very unhappy. We pushed off from the quay shortly after that. As we gained the main channel and fully spread our sails, the Captain came over to talk to me.

"What is your name, young Master?" he asked.

"I'm Kennard O'Connell."

"Is this your first trip to Ennis?"

"Yes! I'm visiting from a different part of the country, but am staying at a castle in County Limerick," I told him. The Captain told me a little about Ennis, as we continued our trip.

"The name comes from a shortening of its name in Celtic: Inis Cluain Ramh Fhada, or Island of the Long Rowing Meadow. The Island was formed between two courses of the river Fergus. There has been a large and well respected Druid Glen there for many centuries.

"The town came to prominence in the 12th century when the O'Brians, who were the Kings of Thomond, or North Munster, left Limerick and established a royal Residence on Clonroad in Ennis. The town grew in importance after that and is a major market town," he finished.

We arrived in Ennis shortly after 3:00 that afternoon and tied up in the center of town at Woodquay after much exertion on the part of the crew in navigating the River Fergus. After a farewell to Captain O'Kearney, I made my way past the market area and found the road going north to the O'Dea Castle with a little help. Once conveniently out of sight of the town, I transferred back to our hotel in Limerick and went up to our room. I found Sunshine and Rose there asleep. I woke them carefully, so as not to frighten then.

"Girls, I'm back, wake up!" I told them. Sunshine was the first to stir.

"Oh, my Ken!" she said in surprise on seeing me. "We spent all of your money! We went to the market. They had so many good things to eat, and we tried a bit of everything. I think that Rose ate for three, but I ate a lot too," she told me excitedly on sitting up before she shook Rose's shoulder to wake her.

"Later! I'll do the fields later," Rose mumbled still asleep.

"Rose, it's time to leave," Sunshine told her sister.

"Oh!" Rose exclaimed, startled as she came awake and sat up. "I dreamed that we were back at Glenquin Castle again."

"No Sweetie! We're on our way to see if Mother is at O'Dea Castle," Sunshine reminded her twin. Both girls were soon up and prepared to leave.

"How are we doing this?" Rose asked, after she finished dressing.

"We'll go to the stable and get our horses. I'll get another horse for Rose and then call our travel trunk to us. We'll transfer to the road on the outskirts of Ennis after that. I have been assured that it is only a short ride from there to the O'Dea Castle," I told them. "Is everything packed?"

"Yes, everything but what we are wearing," Sunshine assured me. I took their hands and transferred us to Cogan's stable.

The old man was still there sitting on his stool, and I began to wonder if he ever moved. We easily found Cogan in the back examining some horses.

"Welcome back, young Master," he said on seeing us. "What can I do... !?" he trailed off there on noticing that there were two young women with me now.

"This is my Wife's Sister, Rose. I'll need to get a horse for her, also," I told him, and was prepared to bargain for the horse.

"I have the perfect horse for a young woman," Cogan assured me, and called one of his men to have the horse brought out for us to see.

The horse that was brought out was a young mare with four white feet. I examined her thoroughly while Rose calmed her and spoke to her. She was a little high spirited, but Rose soon had her as calm as could be. Her Mage talent made her very good with animals. She definitely found the horse acceptable, and so did I. I was prepared to ask the opening price, but Cogan spoke first.

"I know how you love to haggle, but I will let you have her for the same price as you paid for your horse," he told me. "The saddle and grain will be extra of course."

"Of course," I agreed. "I'll also need to pay the bill for stabling our other horses," I added.

"Are you leaving?" Cogan asked, surprised.

"We are going to Ennis to visit O'Dea Castle, and I don't know how long we will be gone," I told him. We settled up after that, and his assistants had our horses ready. I called our possessions in the travel trunk to the stable, and the men loaded the trunk on the pack horse for us.

After saying goodbye to Cogan, we walked our horses back toward Limerick until we were out of sight of the stable. After stopping to calm the horses and to arrange everyone, I cast the transfer spell before taking a hand of each of the Sisters. I added the Magic in my left hand to the glyph held by the fingers of my right hand. We instantly vanished from Limerick.

We reappeared in some trees on the outskirts of Ennis. Rose needed to calm her horse further, as it was the horses first transfer, and it was very nervous. Rose had her calmed down quickly. The other horses had all been through a number of transfers and were no longer upset by the process.

I assisted both women up onto their horses and then mounted mine. We set out on the road for O'Dea Castle which is about seven miles from Ennis. It took about an hour and a-half to cover the distance. Our horses were fresh, and the exercise was good for them after being in the stable for some time.

The castle was visible from quite a distance away. It stood on a small knoll off to the left of the road between Ennis and the village of Corrofin. We could see that it was surrounded by a walled bawn of considerable size. The castle itself didn't appear to be all that large, but we could see the upper stories and roof of a large building beside it that was probably the actual place of residence of the O'Dea family now.

There were watch towers at the visible corners of the bawn walls and additional towers at fifty feet intervals, or so along its length. There was a village a short distance from the castle and numerous other buildings scattered throughout the surrounding area. There were apparently people on guard in some of the towers, as we were met at the bawn gate by someone from the guards.

"A good day to you, Master Wizard. What seek you here?" the man who met us asked in a deep voice.