Chapter 28

A new character appearing in the next several chapters:

Lughaidh O'Clery

Master of Ballyshannon Castle, 5'-9" tall, 150 pounds, 26 years old, dark auburn hair and blue eyes

I awoke in the morning after a fine night's sleep. The Sisters were still asleep on either side of me. We had finished packing most of our clothes and other things the previous night before retiring. I noticed that the 'Book of Dreams' was still here when I awoke, but it disappeared shortly before the Sisters awoke.

After we washed up and donned our traveling clothes, we went to breakfast in the small dining area on the first floor. Afterward, the Sisters returned to the room to finish packing, and I went to find the Earl for his final treatment. I was met by a very haggard looking Doctor Niall outside of the Earl's bedroom.

"You're much too early today," he told me. "They brought the Earl home in a cart before dawn. He was as drunk as I have ever seen him. I've spent some time tending to him. Apparently he spent most of yesterday drinking and gambling with his cronies. It will take most of the day for him to sober up, and then he will be in a foul mood if things follow their usual course," he told me. I was not happy at this turn of events but didn't say anything.

"You'll have to put off leaving until tomorrow at the earliest, I'm afraid," he told me when I hadn't said anything.

"We'll see about that," I said before returning to our room to inform the Sisters of the delay. They too were not happy.

Just after noontime, I was on my way back to the Earl's bedroom when there was a great commotion, and I was passed by several servants hurrying away from the Earl's bedroom in fright. I was met at the door by the House Steward.

"You really don't want to go in there, Master Wizard," he told me. "Himself is still drunk and hung-over, and in a really foul mood," he finished.

"I can handle that," I assured him with a smile.

"He is very dangerous right now. He has a sword out and has threatened the other servants," the Steward told me, concerned for my safety.

"That's fine. I'll deal with him," I told him. He was still blocking the doorway, so I simply transferred into the room, leaving the startled Steward out in the hall.

The bedroom that I reappeared in was a disaster. The Earl was lying on the floor with the sword a few feet away from him. Bed linen were scattered everywhere, and the chair near the bed had been knocked over and broken. He had vomited, several times it appeared, and the place stank. I used a spell to send the vomit and other liquids to the river. This was followed by a heavy duty cleaning spell to clean and freshen up the bed linen, blankets, clothing, rugs, and the Earl himself. It was only after that was finished that I changed the air a number of times to get rid of the nauseating smell. The Earl sat up drunk and bleary eyed as I was finishing.

"Who are you? What are you doing in here?" he demanded drunkenly.

"I'm the Wizard who is treating you. I've come to give you your final treatment, that is after I take care of your current problems," I told him.

"What problems?" he challenged.

"Your hangover for one. I'll also need to sober you up for another," I told him in disgust.

"You ... you never show me any respect!" he shouted, but had to stop for a few seconds as his own voice made his head hurt, and he needed to gather his wits. "Why?" he finished.

"Because you have done nothing to gain my respect," I told him, frankly.

"I'm the Earl of Donegal and The O'Donnell!" he replied in self-righteous indignation. "You never address me as 'My Lord' when you speak to me, or bow when you enter the room. It's like you think that you are my equal," he rambled on drunkenly.

"Earl O'Donnell," I began, but he interrupted me again.

"There -- see, no respect," he shouted still sitting on the floor.

"Earl O'Donnell!" I said raising my voice. "I am neither your servant nor your subject. I am Kellen Conroy O'Connell of Clan O'Connell from the Reality of Less Magic. My Great Grandfather is Michael O'Neill, the previous Grand Master. The current Grand Master, Seamus O'Neill, is my Great Uncle being the younger Brother of my Grandmother. He and his Brother are married to four of my Cousins.

"I have not mentioned this previously because I knew that it would create more trouble than it was worth. You would have felt obliged to entertain me with formal dinners and other social functions. Additionally, you were on your death bed when I arrived. If you keep up this foolishness, like what you did yesterday, you will soon be on your death bed again, and I won't be here to help you," I finished before casting the spell to cure his hangover. The Earl sat there for a couple of minutes after that before rising to sit on the now clean bed.

"You should have said something," was all that he said in reply. I righted the chair and used a spell to repair it before moving it over to the bed.

"There was no need to before coming in here this time. I was just a traveling Wizard with a strong Talent before," I told him, as I took his hand and started a mantra to cleanse his body of alcohol before starting on the final treatment of his other minor problems.

"You need to watch your diet and exercise more. If you continue as you have, you will be dead in five years or so. If you take care of yourself, you could live another twenty-five years," I told him, as I finished.

"You sound like Niall," he grumbled.

"You should listen to him. He is your Physician and has your best interest at heart," I told him. "The choice is yours. Five years or twenty-five!" I added. The Earl didn't appear happy and didn't reply.

"We will be leaving as soon as I pick up the Mac Sweeney Sisters, and our horses are ready," I told him, as I moved to the door and opened it.

"You can send someone in to dress the Earl now, and someone to straighten up the room," I told the Steward who was still there. He stared at me in shock for a minute before turning to organize his people. I returned to our room to collect the Mac Sweeney Sisters and our things.

Doctor Niall intercepted us on our way to the stable. He still looked a little haggard, but was smiling.

"The servants are all amazed that you were able to calm the Earl down," he told us, as he joined us. I had explained my session with the Earl to the Sisters, so they weren't surprised by his remarks.

"I think that telling him that he would be dead in five years if he didn't behave more responsibly scared him," I told Niall.

"I'm not sure that I would have given him that long!" Niall answered with a grin before turning serious.

"I convinced Murieann to write a letter of introduction to her cousin at Ballyshannon. You'll be able to stay there for a few days before continuing on to Sligo Town," he told us, as he handed me the sealed letter.

"Thank you. I appreciate your thoughtfulness."

"Think nothing of it. It's the least that I could do after you saved the Earl's life -- twice actually," he told me with a large grin.

"I could transfer you to Drumboe Castle before we leave," I offered.

"That is tempting, but I really need to be here for a while yet to ensure that the Earl recovers completely. I'm sure my dear Wife will understand," he finished. We shook hands before he turned back to the castle after wishing the Sisters and me a good trip.

At the stable, we found our horses and the cart ready for us. The leather sack easily fit into the compartment under the seat, and the valise was strapped to the back of the seat and rested on the bustle. The stablemen gave us directions for the road to Ballyshannon.

On the way through town, we stopped at the market. It was now well past noon, and the Sisters wanted more of the smoked salmon and brown bread which they really seemed to like. Since we had made such a late start, this seemed like a good idea. We set off down Quarry Street for Ballyshannon after we ate.

We passed through the village of Laghy, and then came to Bridgetown on the river flowing out of several small Lough to the east. We stopped here to water the horses by the river. The town was aptly named as it was built around the bridge that crossed the forty-some-foot wide river that was both swift and deep. There were stalls set up in the town selling fresh, smoked, and preserved fish of several kinds. Since we had eaten in Donegal just over an hour before, we didn't stop to eat again.

We proceeded on to Ballintra a half hour down the road after crossing the river. There was another small river crossing in Ballintra, and some small streams to cross on the way to Cavagarden. We arrived there some hour and a-half after leaving Ballintra. We stopped there again to water the horses and feed them some grain. The final four mile or so stretch to Ballyshannon also had a small river to ford. The road from Cavagarden made a wide swing turning to the west to enter Ballyshannon.

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Ballyshannon is situated on the Erne River where it flows into the North Atlantic. The name is a corruption of the original Celtic name for the place which was known in ancient times as Beal Atha Seannaigh meaning 'the entrance to Senach's ford'. In 1423 a castle was erected here on the north bank of the Erne River by Niall Grabh O'Domhnaill, Son of Turlough O'Domhnaill, to control the principal ford of the river. It was constructed there because of a perceived vulnerability to attack from the Province of Connacht. The possession of the ford was of immense strategic importance because of the threat from Connacht, and because of the harbor here. At the time it was considered the key to the Province of Tir Connell.

The castle was attacked in the mid 1590s during a protracted dispute with the High King which was known as The Nine Year Wars. It was commanded by and successfully defended by one Eogham (Owen) Crawford and the O'Donnell wardens, until 'Red' Hugh O'Donnell returned from fighting the High King's forces on another front and routed the attackers.

Sometime later, after peace had been made with the new Earl, Rory O'Donnell, the Borough of Ballyshannon was incorporated in 1613. The town grew up around the castle at the head of the harbor of the same name at the mouth of the River Erne. The river is now crossed by a bridge of fourteen arches, and it divides the town into two parts. That on the south bank is known as the Port of Ballyshannon. The majority of the town is still located on the north bank of the river. Over time the town had developed to become a thriving market and port.

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The road from Ballintra and Cavangarden ran right into Ballyshannon, and we took the first left to enter the town. It turned out that we were on Market Street. It was a rather steep street that descended to the river. We followed it south to the Diamond through some heavy traffic for this late in the afternoon. There were still numerous carts and wagons on the broad street, as well as pedestrians.

It wasn't until we reached the Diamond, where Market Street meets Main Street that we stopped to ask directions. All of the tall buildings along the street had hidden the castle. We were directed toward the river where we were told that we would find the castle and the bridge not far from it. The street there also changed names to 'Castle Street'. It was only a couple of hundred feet before we reached the bawn wall.

The walls of this bawn were some eighteen feet high with merlons adding an additional four feet. The entry gate was located in the center of this west facing wall which was some 175 feet long and went right on to the river's edge. The entry itself was some six feet wide but less than eight feet to the top of its pointed arch. There were two stout gates set back some eighteen inches from the pair of yetts at the front of the entry. There was a machicolation on corbels over the entrance. This was all a part of the gate house which extended above the wall.

The entry gate went through the gate house which had another pair of yetts at the other end. I noticed that the wooden gates were over four inches thick, later when I passed them. I dismounted and rang the bell at the entrance. A guard soon appeared behind the first pair of yetts.

"What is your business here, Master?" he asked.