LIGHTNOVELONLINE 118. Encamped
"Tegan, you and Keira will be tending the horses tonight. Kelly, you and Padraig will set up one of the tents. Laoise and I will set up the other tent."
Siobhan glanced at all of us to see if anyone had any complaints. Nobody said anything, we all just nodded and got to work.
I still remembered how to do this, and I was sure Siobhan expected me to teach Keira what to do. The six of us got all the stuff off the pack horses, then Siobhan took one large bundle and the young man took another large bundle, then along with Kelly and the brunette they went to set up the tents.
"So what do we do?" Keira asked me. "I have a vague idea but I'm assuming you're the expert on this."
I shrugged, "I'm no expert, and I'm way out of practice. I'm pretty sure I won't hurt any of the horses, but that's about all I'm sure of."
Dealing with the horses wasn't actually that bad. It was hard work though and it took Keira and I over an hour to get all eight horses taken care of. I was a little distracted though by the pain in my backside that had me walking funny. Keira was doing about the same, and Kelly looked just as stiff as she moved around.
When me and Keira finished with the horses, we moved to join the others.
One tent was already up, and Siobhan was helping Kelly and Padraig get the second tent up. Laoise was getting ready to do something with food. I wasn't sure what exactly, she didn't appear to be making a fire or anything but it looked like she meant to do some cooking.
A few minutes later the second tent was up. Siobhan, Kelly, and Padraig got bedrolls out from the gear and set three in each tent. That seemed to be the last of the work to be done for the evening. The sun was almost set so our timing was pretty good.
With that, Siobhan moved to sit down on the ground next to Laoise. As she did, she said "I suppose we can continue with the introductions now."
I sat across from them, and as usual Kelly sat to my left and Keira sat to my right. Padraig took a seat as well, so all six of us were sort of sitting around where I figured a campfire should be.
The former captain nodded towards the young man sitting to her left. "Padraig here is an excellent archer and good at tracking and hunting. He normally serves Clann Brádaigh as a corporal in the guard." Siobhan looked at me and added, "Padraig was with us last time we made this voyage."
I smiled to him, "Nice to see you again Padraig. I recognized you but wasn't sure where we'd met before."
He bowed his head to me and replied "Thank you ma'am. It's an honour to be working with you again."
Siobhan added, "Padraig's job on this trip will be security. He may also do some hunting once we get into the forest, to supplement our supplies."
Then she nodded to the brunette woman on her right, "Laoise is retired now, but she used to serve as an officer in the guard. She held the rank of lieutenant before she left the service. Laoise's main job on our trip will be taking care of the meals, but she can handle herself in a fight so if we run into trouble she'll be helping out just like the rest of us."
I knew there had to be more to her story than that. She was far too young to actually retire, I figured she'd been forced to quit for some reason. It couldn't be anything about her loyalty though, or Siobhan wouldn't have brought her on this trip.
"Hello Laoise," I greeted her. "It's nice to meet you."
She gave me a brief smile and replied "Thank you ma'am. It's a pleasure to meet you."
I glanced to either side of me then said to her and Padraig, "I'm sure you already know, but I'm Tegan. This is Keira on my right, and Kelly on my left."
"Hello," Kelly said with a smile.
Keira nodded, "Hi."
After a moment Keira added, "I'm curious to see what you're going to do about dinner, since I don't see any firewood or anything like that."
Siobhan pointed out "No trees around here, so no wood for fires. We'd have needed another pack-horse just to haul wood."
"Are we eating cold rations then?" Padraig asked, although Laoise had some pots out, like she meant to do some cooking.
I figured out the answer before Laoise revealed it. She was obviously going to use magic. A moment later she cast a spell. Her eyes flared briefly, and the two pots began to heat up on their own. It was kind of fascinating to watch, the cookware behaved as though it was over a fire or on a stove.
The brunette soon had water boiling in one pot while she put some diced meat and vegetables in the other pot along with a chunk of butter and some seasoning. Soon the air was filled with the smell of dinner.
Wine-skins were passed around to drink. I still wasn't a fan of wine but over the past couple years I'd been trying to get a little more used to it.
As I continued watching Laoise prepare the food, I asked "Was that spell you used something specific for cooking? I don't think I've come across anything like that before."
She smiled, "No ma'am. It's a spell I originally learned for combat. Meant to roast enemies. I have something of a talent for fire magic I suppose? I've learned to modify it so rather than delivering overwhelming heat all at once, it's a slower more manageable heat delivered over a longer period of time."
I smiled back at her, "I'm impressed."
Laoise just shrugged, "It saves me having to pay for firewood, or having to go out and gather it myself."
Dinner took about an hour to cook, and it was dark out by the time the food was ready. Without a campfire we mostly had to rely on starlight, the moon was only about half full. The food was worth the wait though, it was tasty and hearty, the meat and vegetables were combined with rice.
As the six of us sat and ate together, I asked quietly "Siobhan, Laoise, Padraig? I'm curious why you three volunteered to come on this trip. You don't have to say if you don't want, I don't want to pressure you at all. But if you don't mind sharing, I'd like to know?"
For a few moments all three of them were quiet. Then Padraig broke the silence.
He spoke softly, almost a whisper as he said, "M'lady, what you did at Duma Dé was the stuff of legend. I was honoured to be there with you last time. Whatever's going to happen this time, I want to be there for it again. Beyond that, you're the heiress of the clann, and great-granddaughter of Taralynn herself. I'll follow you to the end of the world and back."
I was glad for the darkness, so nobody could see me blushing. "Thank you Padraig... I don't really know what to say."
There was a faint smile on Laoise's lips, I realized she probably knew how embarrassed I felt. She said quietly, "I volunteered for a few reasons. It was likely my only opportunity to meet you ma'am, and your companions. It was also likely my only opportunity to visit Duma Dé. And it's nice to be working with Siobhan again, and working for the clann. Even if it's all unofficial."
I commented, "Well I'm glad to have you along, Laoise. And I'm not just saying that because the food's delicious."
Siobhan remained quiet for a bit longer. When she finally spoke, she just said quietly "With all due respect, I'd prefer to keep my reasons to myself."
She added, "I am curious though, as I'm sure Laoise and Padraig are too, what your purpose is on this trip? Why did you need to return to Duma Dé now? If you don't mind telling us."
"Of course," I nodded. "Like I said Siobhan, I didn't want to pressure you. As for my own reasons..."
I paused a moment as I debated whether or not I should tell them. In the end I decided to be honest. "I'm sure you all know the king has ordered my arrest, there are warrants for Kelly and Keira and me. He's also started meddling in our affairs on Earth, so it's difficult for us to remain there. I need some guidance, some advice on how to deal with the situation. I need to speak with Taralynn herself, and I believe I can do that at Duma Dé."
The others were all quiet for a few moments as that sank in.
Then Kelly broke the silence as she added, "And where Tegan goes, Keira and I go as well."
Padraig asked her, "Are the three of you married then?"
From his tone I realized it was a genuine question, he wasn't joking or teasing. I knew on Earth three-way marriages didn't really happen, or at least they weren't legal, but from the way he asked it made me wonder if they were a real thing here.
Before I could reply, Keira answered with a grin "Yes, we are."
She held out her left hand, though it was almost too dark to see the ring on her finger.
Padraig seemed to accept that as fact. He smiled, "Congratulations. It's a shame it happened while you were all in exile, I'm sure there would have been a fantastic feast and celebration at the castle if it were possible."
"That is why you've refused the king's offers?" Laoise asked.
I was blushing again but nodded "That's one of the reasons. I don't want to marry his son or his daughter, but I also don't want to have to live under his roof and his rules. I don't want him controlling me or thinking he can take advantage of me and my magic."
Everyone was quiet again for a few minutes after that, until Siobhan spoke up next.
"It's late, and we've all finished eating. I suggest we get some sleep. We'll be up with the sun, and we've many long days ahead of us."
She added, looking at me and the twins "We have supplies for eighteen days. We could stretch that a bit, and perhaps supplement it with fresh meat if Padraig has success at hunting. But the bottom line is the quicker we can get to Duma Dé, the more time you'll have there. If it takes us eight days to arrive, that will leave us just two days at the Duma before we have to start back."
"Understood," I nodded. "Thanks Siobhan."
The dishes and pots were rinsed out in the little stream, then we finally headed into the tents. Kelly and Keira and I had one tent to ourselves, while Siobhan and Laoise and Padraig were in the other one.
It wasn't anywhere near as comfortable as the accommodations on our first trip to the Duma, but it was a lot nicer than sleeping on the ground under the stars like we did with Feichin back on our first visit to Griofa.
The three of us quickly got undressed and cuddled together under blankets atop the bedrolls, and it wasn't long before we were all asleep in each others arms.
