ravencallscrows | Melpomene's Daughter, Part 12

Wherein Alexei discovers the nature of the quest.

“There are seven treasures in this world, which have been taken from their places, and this has caused much suffering in this place. Far to the west is the island from which the thieves set forth. These treasures may seem to be largely mundane things, but they're quite magical. They are an apple, a silvery birch branch, a hazelnut, a wheel, a tree with leaves both verdant and flame red, a dragon-heart stone, and a four-sided cup said to have been given to Manannan, son of Lir by Cormac, son of Airt.”

Cathal, the oldest of the brothers spoke up at this point. “We've a mind to be with you on the journey, but have been told that we must secure this area. Nuca, the druid, has told us to have seventeen warriors sent with you, so that you complete the second nine. Seventeen may not seem like many to send against the raiders from the island of Laighis, but Nuca has said that they're sure to be sufficient. The champions from the tribes over which our father reigns should be arriving shortly. We should rest while we can until they arrive.”

Nimuë sighed as she looked at the four young men sitting together. “I wish that I were able to remain with you. Unfortunately, I have not that leisure. Urgent matters compel me to be off. With good fortunes, and the blessings of the Gods, I shall rejoin you should your return voyage bring you to the Island of Women.”

“If Barinthus can navigate to that place, then we shall make certain to include it in our itinerary,” Alexei noted with a smile.

Nimuë smiled at him, and leaned down to kiss him. “I shall indeed expect to see you there. Barinthus is one of the few men who can come and go from those shores.”

I'm probably going to take a few weeks off from posting chunks of this. There are still fifteen or so pages written which haven't been posted yet, but i'd like to be farther ahead than this, and the absolute lack of feedback since the first or second part has left me wondering if serializing on a weekly basis isn't just too much for readers to track or if anyone's still reading it. I'll probably shift to posting a chapter at a time on my website and leaving a note here when that happens, so that if you're interested, you can go read it and if you're not, it's just one little hyperlink instead of a mass of screen scroll. If you still want to see it here weekly, let me know- i'm not sold on stopping posting, just on doing so if no one's really interested anymore.