Chapter 8

The next things that I became aware of, as I awakened, were a pounding on the door of the screen wall and the sunlight visible through the tower window. It appeared that the sun had been up for some time.

"Master O'Connell, are you ready for breakfast? It's late already," a voice was telling us.

"Just a minute!" I called, as I got out of bed, and donned a robe and slippers that were near the bed. Sunshine had awakened at the sound of my voice.

"You need to dress. Breakfast is here," I told her, as I headed for the door and lowered my wards in the screen wall.

"Good Morning, my Lord," the Castellan said, as I opened the right-hand door. "I didn't wake you, did I?"

"It's all right," I told him. "We slept a little late this morning."

"I'll just set your breakfast on the table and return a little later, if that's all right, my Lord?" he asked.

"Yes, certainly. Return in a half hour or so," I assured him, as he entered, set the tray on the small dining table, and departed.

"I need to relieve myself, Master Ken," Sunshine told me after the Castellan had left. She was dressed now and headed for the door, and the lavatory at the end of the hallway.

In the meantime, I was checking the food that had arrived for poison. Perhaps I was paranoid, but after the Guard Captain's remarks last night, I intended to be very careful.

When Sunshine returned, I told her that the food was safe to eat before going to use the lavatory myself. It wasn't a place one spent more time in than was necessary. Sunshine still looked uncomfortable when I returned, and she hadn't started breakfast.

"Could you produce more water so I might clean up, Master Ken?" she asked.

"Yes, certainly. You don't need to call me Master Ken when we are alone. Just Ken is fine," I reminded her, as I materialized water in the tub and heated it. Sunshine washed her legs, pussy and butt.

"I can tell that Rose was active last night," she told me, as she washed.

"Yes, she woke me very early in the morning," I told her. "Does that happen often?" I added.

"Not often. Mostly she just listens and offers advice, but when Master Eogham was 'in the mood', she was the one to take care of him," Sunshine explained, as she redressed in my Apprentice robe. I washed myself also before sending the water to the fields again. I had chosen a less lavish Master Wizard's robe from the chest to wear today. We were seated at the table eating when the Castellan returned and knocked at the closed door.

"Enter," I said after the knock.

"Good morning, my Lord. Did you have questions for me about the operation of the castle?" he asked.

"Yes, I have some questions, but they are about the castle itself. We'll get to its operation later. How long have you been the Castellan here, and what is your name? I dislike just calling you Castellan," I told him.

"My name is Eamon ... Eamon O'Flaharty, the third, my Lord. I was born in the castle and became the Castellan when my Father died, just as he had when his Father died, and so on back for eight generations," he told me.

"That's very good news. I presume then that you have a good knowledge of the Castle's history."

"Yes, my Lord."

"You don't need to address me as my Lord all of the time, especially when we are alone. My name is Kennard, and most people call me Ken," I told him.

"Yes, very well, Master Ken," he replied with a smile. "I know all of the various legends about the castle. It has all been passed down orally, as many of my ancestors had little or no writing skills."

"I can understand that. Even with good educations and excellent writing abilities, there is little written down about our clan. Most of its history is oral also. Of course, the originators of our clan are still among us," I told him.

"Still... !!" he asked in surprise.

"Yes, my Great Grandmothers are powerful Sorceresses and are several hundred years old," I told him.

"Several hundred... !!"

"Yes! Three hundred and thirty-six years to be exact," I told him to a very shocked expression after I did a little quick math. I didn't go into any details however. Sunshine was shocked on hearing this also.

"But that is secondary. Tell me about the history of the castle," I asked Eamon.

"The present castle was built by the O'Hallinan' clan and was first occupied in 1462. It was built on the site of an earlier building which dated back to 983 according to legend," he began.

"The castle has changed hands many times since then. The O'Brins were the first of the major families to take it. They lost it to the Geraldines, who are also known as the FitzGeralds, during the Desmond wars. They held it until 1571 when the High King confiscated it after a protracted dispute with the Geraldine clan.

"It is believed that the Geraldines were the ones who completed the present form that the castle and bawn take. It has changed hands many times since being seized by the High King. Master Eogham is believed to have come into possession of it in a somewhat questionable manner, but nothing was ever proven, and he is / was a strong Wizard," he finished.

"He is still alive and still a Wizard, though he has never been all that strong. Although by local standards he may appear to be," I told him before returning to my previous inquiry.

"Do you know any more of the very early history of this place?"

"The Druid Priestess Ita founded a learning center near here in Killeedy in 546 according to legend. Killeedy was destroyed by invading Norseman in 845 and the area was attacked again in 1302 according to legend.

"Glenquin comes from the more ancient Celtic 'Gleann Choim' or the 'Glen of the Shelter'. It is believed that the building or fort that the O'Hallinan clan built here in 983 was built on the site of an even older structure, perhaps a ring fort, only a part of which remained here at that time. The legends do not say by whom or when this earlier tower or fort was built, or what happened to it. That could be how the name originated.

"The O'Hallinans were an important family, and even though they lost a portion of their land, they were able to hold the major part of it. They were known as 'The Lords of Orior' then and the lands hereabout were known as 'O'Hallinan Country' as late as the 1600's," he finished.

"You are familiar with the inner walls that form a part of the cell near the front of the ground floor, are you not?" I asked.

"Yes. The cold room, Master Ken. I am very familiar with it. It was formerly used as a storage place because it was always cold in there. Master Eogham was the one who changed it into a dungeon," he told me with some little distaste in his voice.

"Could those walls go back to the much earlier tower or fort that was on this site?" I asked. He paused for some time before answering my question. He appeared to be deep in thought.

"There is no mention of them in the legends, as I learned them, Master Ken. Why do you ask? Is it important?" he asked concerned.

"Yesterday, after dealing with Master Eogham, I was preparing to cast my wards around the cell to keep him in there, but became intrigued by the cold walls. On checking them, I discovered a cooling spell unlike any that I had encountered before.

"Now you must understand, I am a Senior Master and have access to all of the books in the Otherworld's Library in my Reality, but I have seen nothing even remotely like this spell. It is elegant in its construction and beautiful in the way that it works.

"This may be difficult for you to understand, as you have only a limited amount of the Talent, but trust me on this. I also investigated the walls with Green Magic from my Mage Talent, and found those two walls to be much older than the limestone walls of the tower. It is very difficult to place a date or period on those walls, but the difference in age is significant," I told him.

"The name 'Gleann Choim' goes back a very long ways, Master Ken. What you say could very well be true, but we have no way to check on it" he told me.

"What about this learning center that you mentioned? Would they have anything?" I asked.

"It was destroyed long ago in the various raids on the area, and there is little of it left, just some scattered stones on the ground," he told me.

"Thank you," I told him. "The information has been of some help. I will see what else I can learn from the stones in the wall. We will talk more later, and you can fill me in about the operation of the castle. I can feel that Sunshine is anxious to be out in the fields checking on the crops, and I will go with her to see what I can do to aid in their growth," I told him.

"Thank you, Master Ken. Master Eogham had little concern for the fields, only that they produce what he demanded," Eamon said, as he rose to leave.

I had saved a large bowl of porridge to take to Master Eogham in the cell. Sunshine and I dressed to inspect the fields and the crops in them before descending to the ground floor. I had left my wards in place on our apartment. The remaining dishes could be returned to the kitchen later. Sunshine didn't care to see her old Master and remained in the entry room on the ground floor while I transferred into the cell startling the Wizard.

"Master Eogham!" I said on appearing, startling the older man who was slumped on the sleeping platform.

"How do you do that!!?" he demanded on recovering from his shock.

"It's just a simple spell, but it does require a significant amount of Talent to cast it," I told him, then added,"I've brought you something to eat. I hope that you have been considering what you have done wrong that has landed you in here."

"I have done nothing to warrant being confined like this," he stated in righteous indignation.

"I fear that you will have a long stay here then," I told him before placing the bowl of porridge on the sleeping platform and producing fresh water in the water bucket after emptying the old water from it and the slop bucket.

"I will leave you here to consider your failings further," I told him, as I added Magic to the transfer spell. Sunshine and I then left for the fields.

There were villagers from the castle village working in the fields around it. It didn't take much to realize that the soil in the fields was overused and needed to rest for at least a year, and then have different crops planted in it. Planting the same crop year after year had degraded the soil.

I was able to use my Green Magic to bring nutrients up closer to the top layer of soil in the various fields to help the present crops grow. Sunshine had been watching and monitoring what I was doing very carefully as I did this. She seemed very surprised by what I was doing.

"I had no idea that it was possible to do that," she told me, and then got another surprised look on her face.

"How do I suddenly know how to do that?" she asked in an awe struck voice after a few seconds.

"The 'Book of Dreams' was in our apartment last night. I saw it this morning when I awakened," I told her.

""The 'Book of Dreams'... ??" she asked in surprise. "But I don't know how to read, and besides I was asleep!"

"It teaches you in your sleep. It will also teach you how to read and many other things in addition to teaching you how to use your Talent," I told her.

"That is amazing, and you own this book!?" she asked.

"No one 'owns' the 'Book of Dreams', but it has been in our clan's keeping for a number of generations," I told her, before turning to more serious matters.