Chapter 31

The meal that evening was much more festive than our afternoon snack had been. Everyone wore their best clothes, and there was even music at the meal, which consisted of seven courses and finished with wine and ale. The twins did try some of the ale which was very good, but only a little, and none of the wine. They had learned their lesson.

That night the Sisters wanted sex, which was all right with me. Both of them wanted the long, slow, and passionate variety, but separately and with a little sleep between sessions. Both Sisters screamed and nearly passed out before finishing. We were a little late rising the next morning, and we all took hot baths, separately, using the tub in our room.

There had been another young woman at the evening meal last night. Eithne was Lady Caoilinn's niece. She was nineteen with long black hair, but was a bit thin for my tastes. She had stayed out of sight when we first arrived, as her Aunt feared the Wizards returning and kidnapping her. At the dinner, she had been very interested in Lughaidh. The pair came into breakfast together this morning. Lughaidh had a smile on his face all morning.

Following breakfast, he took us all out for a walk in the surrounding area, and pointed out various features that he remembered from his previous visit. Eithne accompanied us, but she seemed less interested in what he pointed out than in Lughaidh himself. She stayed very close to him, as he talked about the area and the things that he remembered. The twins and I gave them some space to be alone together, but also so they could talk to me.

"They slept together last night," Airmid told me.

"How do you know that?" I asked.

"We could sense them even through your wards and spells," Almha told me.

"Through the spells?" I asked skeptically, as I had set the privacy and noise suppression spells last night.

"Yes, the spells are made to keep things in, but they do not keep things from coming in," Airmid told me with a little giggle, as we continued to follow the others.

The evening meal that night wasn't quite as festive although the food was just as excellent. After the meal, I announced that we would be returning to Ballyshannon in the morning. Eithne appeared to be shocked at this news, and whispered frantically to Lughaidh.

At breakfast on Monday morning, Eithne announced that she was leaving with Lughaidh.

"If that is acceptable to you, Lady Caoilinn," Lughaidh added, bowing from the waist to Lady Caoilinn.

"Yes, I believe that will be all right. I'll send a note to my Sister advising her of where Eithne has gone," Lady Caoilinn told him with a smile.

"And if that is all right with you, also, Master O'Connell," he asked next.

"It won't be a problem," I assured him before asking, "Will everyone be ready to leave by 9:30 or so?"

"Yes, I'm quite ready. What about you, Eithne?" he asked.

"I need to finish packing," she said, a little embarrassed.

"That's fine. We can leave a little later then," I assured her.

The Sisters and I were waiting in the bawn at 10:00, and were joined by Lughaidh shortly after that. Eithne came out of the Manor House about fifteen minutes later followed by two large male servants who were carrying an extra large travel trunk.

"Sorry to be late," she said with a weak smile. "I had to get everything into the one trunk," she finished.

"That won't cause any trouble, will it?" Lughaidh asked with a frown.

"No, I've transported myself, the Sisters, two horses, and a cart at the same time before with no trouble," I assured him. Lady Caoilinn and Sean Og appeared right after that to wish us a safe journey, and to thank us for our help. Lady Caoilinn was still a little disturbed by all that had happened and now clung to Sean Og who was much better.

We had Eithne sit on her trunk in the middle of our circle, and then I cast the transfer spell drawing power from the Sisters and myself to power it, as I had previously. We vanished from the bawn at Glenveagh Castle and instantly reappeared in the one at Ballyshannon Castle.

Our sudden appearance was the cause of alarm for those in the bawn, but they soon calmed down as we were recognized. One of the guard Lieutenants did come out to check on us and determine that everything was all right. He summoned two men to help move Eithne's trunk into the Manor House and up to a room. They were led by Lughaidh and Eithne. The twins and I returned to our room where we deposited our things before planing out the remainder of the day.

"We will be leaving for Sligo Town early tomorrow morning," I reminded them.

"We will go over all of the clothing and make sure that they are clean before we repack everything," Airmid assured me.

"We will need to keep something out for the evening meal tonight,"Almha reminded us. "What else is there to do?" she asked after that.

"We need to check on the horses and the cart, especially the horses' feet and shoes, and the bearings of the cart's wheels," I told them.

"You do that, since you know about such things," Airmid told me. "We will see to the cleaning and the packing."

I went down to the stable to check on our horses first. The mare needed a new shoe on her right front hoof. My horse just wanted to get out on the road. He disliked being kept in the stable. I spoke to the blacksmith about the mare's shoe and had him check the wheels on the cart as well as its frame and the spring suspension. He assured me later that everything was in fine shape, and that he had shod the mare. Before returning to our room, I told the stablemen that we would be leaving early in the morning, and they promised to have the horses and the cart ready to go by 8:00.

The Sisters had finished cleaning and repacking our belongings when I returned to the room. I had them do some studying of Magic from the 'Book of Dreams', as it was only noon time. The book had taught them to read already, and I only needed to answer their questions, or explain points that they had trouble with, or didn't understand. We took a little nap that afternoon following some heavy hugging and kissing.

The evening meal that night was attended only by Lughaidh and Eithne along with the three of us. Captain Calvagh and his Wife joined us after the meal for drinks. Lughiadh introduced Eithne to them, and I needed to recount the things that had taken place on our visit to Glenveagh Castle. The ale and wine were as good as previously, but the three of us drank very little, and left early to get a good night's rest.

We were up early on the morning of Tuesday, the first of July, and had nearly finished breakfast before we were joined by Lughaidh and Eithne.

"What time are you leaving?" he asked.

"Shortly after 8:00," I told him.

"After you cross the bridge, take the Purt Road going west. It will take you to Bundoran," he told us.

"Will you be returning this way?" Eithne asked, curious.

"No, once we finish our business in Sligo, my Cousin and I will return to our Realm and Reality with the women that we have found to be married," I told her.

"You really aren't from our Ireland then?" she asked.

"No, but we have connections here. Our ancestors came from County Kerry in our Reality, and several of our Mothers came from the Ireland in this Reality," I told her. This confused her even more, and I had to explain about my Father and Uncle, and that they each had three Wives. Eithne was totally shocked by this. (See Magic Ink III for the details)

"Your Father has three Wives, and they all get along?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yes, two of them are Irish and share a mental link, similar to the one that the Sisters share with me. They both also love Petra, my Father's German Wife," I told her. It was obvious from her shock that Eithne would never understand such a relationship, or be accepting of one. By the time all of the explanations were finished, it was well past 8:00 that morning, and time that we were on the road. We returned to the room that we had been using to gather our possessions, and I canceled the wards around the room.

Our horses and the cart were ready in the bawn when we arrived there. Lughaidh accompanied us, and the Captain plus many of the guards came out to see us off.

"After you cross the bridge turn right on Purt Road. It will take you to Bundoran and the River Drowes. From there you are in County Leitrim for a time, and then County Sligo," Lughaidh reminded me before we shook hands. The Sisters had secured our possessions in the seat compartment of the cart and had the valise strapped behind the spindle back seat. I helped them up onto the cart and then mounted my horse. We were out the gate and on our way after receiving many wishes for a good journey from those gathered in the bawn.

Ballyshannon was soon left behind, and we had covered the four miles or so to Bundoran, which was a sleepy little town. It's one bright spot was a fine hotel, the Irish Highlands, on Main Street. We had no reason to stop and proceeded on. Not far out of the town we came to the River Drowes which flows out of Lough Melvin into Donegal Bay. It is the actual border between County Donegal and County Leitrim.

The two miles from Bundoran to Knlough were made very quickly and easily thanks to the new bridge over the River Drowes. From Knlough to Balloor was four miles and an hour's travel time, as was the distance and travel time between Balloor and Moneylahan. The weather had been clear and warm so far, and we had enjoyed a pleasant ride along the coast.

The mountains inland from us had been visible for some time, and now we came to the most impressive sight of all. We later learned that it was named Benbulben, and it was a most peculiar mountain. It rises nearly 1800 feet above the coastal plain. Its base starts out with patches of yellow and sage-green vegetation that turns to streams of broken rock part of the way up the slope. From these, pillars of stone start like the pipes of a giant organ up to the flat-topped mesa at the summit.

It curves around the coastal plain, and we were under its gaze for some seven miles from Moneylahan to Grange, where we crossed the Grange River, to Cashelgarron, and then to Drumcliff. At Drumcliff, we crossed a river of the same name that flows out of Lough Glencar. By the time that we passed through Rathcormach, a mile or so from Drumcliff, Benbulben was behind us, and we were out from under its gaze. The remaining three miles or so from Rathcarmach to Sligo Town were covered easily with only a small river to ford.

The name Sligo is from the Celtic Sligeach, or shelly place. Allegedly this originated from the abundance of shell fish found in the river and its estuary, and from the extensive 'shell middens' as the Stone Age food preparation sites in the area are known. This river, which is now known as the Garavoaue, or 'Rough River', was also originally known as the Sligeach.

Sligo's connection to the Neolithic period is easily seen from the abundance of ancient sites in the surrounding area. The Carrowmore and Carrowkeel Megalithic Cemeteries, Heapstown, and Queen Medb's Cairn on Knocknarea mountain, to cover just the major sites, demonstrate that the area has been settled for thousands of years.

The Medieval town of Sligo grew up around the castle built here in 1245 by Maurice FitzGerald, who was later killed in a battle near here with the O'Donnells. The 'Red' Earl of Ulster rebuilt the castle and laid out a new town plan in 1310, when the area was under his control. The castle was destroyed by the O'Donnels in 1315. The O'Donnels and the O'Neills invaded and fought over Sligo with others for the next two hundred and fifty years. The town was destroyed several times during this period.

Sligo was originally founded as a Sradbhaile, or street settlement, meaning that it had no walls for protection. It wasn't proclaimed a town until 1612, but well before that it had grown in importance as a port exporting agricultural products, fish, lumber, and leather to Britain and Europe. A flourishing brewing and distilling industry had developed by the end of the eighteenth century.

The cholera epidemic of 1832 was especially virulent in Sligo and there were tales of dead bodies in the streets and whole families were decimated.

The town sits on a richly wooded plain encircled on all sides, save the sea, by high mountains. These start within three or four miles of the town. Lough Gill is to the east of the town. The Garrogue River flows out of Lough Gill and through the town to Sligo Bay.

We reached the outskirts of Sligo Town just after 3:00 that afternoon. It was soon apparent that Sligo was a much larger town than Ballyshannon had been and was possibly even larger than Letterkenny. It also appeared to be a very busy town. I asked directions before we could become lost in its long somewhat narrow streets, many of which were bordered by three story masonry buildings.

We soon made our way to Hyde Bridge, one of only two masonry bridges crossing the Garavogue River in Sligo. Just off of Hyde Bridge along the river was the Silver Swan Hotel located in a large masonry building. Lughaidh had recommended it to us, as a good place to stay. The hotel was centrally located near Wine Street with its pubs and eateries, and Knox Street (Called O'Connell Street in our Reality) with its market area.