Lady Ceiling's Journal
Lady Ceiling’s Journal. Out into the open plains
via the Butterfly Meadow
Woeday 17th Fourth Moon
We were woken early in the
morning to find breakfast already cooked for us by Beevil’s staff. They were
eager to show willing to their new Verdini masters. Later they would be digging
graves for all the bodies left from yesterday’s action. True to Vaggo’s
intentions the Druid Bondusto had obtained volunteers to come and escort us
across Hunara. Led by Vaggson they comprised twelve spearmen, the trumpeter and
two spear bearing nurses, sixteen in all. They led us roughly eastwards through
the forest. Both they and we were rather sluggish from our exertions and the
feasting afterwards. We had only been travelling an hour when Vaggson in the
lead halted us. A small winged being was hovering a couple of hets above the
ground ahead of us waving. Our crossbow dwarves levelled their weapons but
Princess Griselda cried “Hold. It may be a messenger for us!”
“Yes. It seems to be carrying a book
rather than a weapon.” agreed Graf Silth, “Your Highness and Chieftain Vaggson,
let us go forward to parley with it.”
“It looks like the Cherub Natalie your
lordships!” quoth the Nurse Poma. “She aided us in Matrigna’s hospital in the
past. She is a midwife.”
“But she went off with Matrigna when
Beevil took her over! I would not trust her your lordships!” quoth the Nurse
Lema.
“Nevertheless I think that we should
parley with her even so.” said Graf Silth. So he with Princess Griselda and the
Verdini Chieftain went forward to meet it. It had the appearance of a large
plump winged baby as it hovered in the air, holding a large book.
“Who are you and what do you want?” he
demanded.
“I am Natalie a one-time Cherub of
Opita Dam. I wish you no harm, in
fact I am ready to offer my services once more to the Verdini tribe.”
“Can we trust you? You who have been the
servant of Beevil for so long!” responded Chieftain Vaggson.
“I was the servant of Matrigna not
Beevil, but they have both been driven away from our lands. I have long resided
around here as a healer, I do not wish to leave!”
“It appears to me that you are speaking
to us from the Gheist Flache where you are safe from any violence. We could
trust you better if you joined us in the flesh?”
“Very well!” and holding her book above
her head she chanted the words of power in Lerumint and a brief golden shimmer
enveloped her. “I am now in the Mondo Morvali, your real world where, should you
choose you can offer me violence. This is
Mathoth’s Tome of Wisdom which aids
me in the casting of spells.”
“Then I suppose you had better come with
us.” said Vaggson. “We are heading out onto the open plains.”
“Then I must warn you that Beevil is
setting an ambush for you in the Butterfly Glade. Matrigna told me you had
killed many of their creatures. He still has some more of them including some
Whorgi.”
“Should we not take another route to
avoid this glade then?” asked Princess Griselda.
“It would add perhaps half a day Your
Royal Highness!” warned Vaggson. “The butterflies of the glade are gigantic and
drink men’s blood. But they do not hatch until the sixth Moon so it should be
safe to go there.”
“We had little problem dealing with his
forces in the Rupe Chase. Now we have been warned, I doubt not that we can deal
again with the Whorgi and anything else Beevil can muster. We should not waste
time un-necessarily! Cherub Natalie you shall hover over us and warn us of any
threats. Forward!”
So we moved onwards and in
half an hour Natalie called that “This is the start of the Butterfly Glade.
There is one of Beevil’s Imps on that crag to the right and there is another one
further on to the left. They are both in the Gheist Flache! The vultures are
eating some creature on the ground in front of a cave!”
We all came to a halt as
there was a small crag and some trees in the middle of the Glade and the leaders
had some discussion as to which side we should pass it. I could see one vulture
perched on the top of this crag which was not a cheering sight. Neither was that
of seeing the Imp on the right making faces at us. I knew from the histories
that in the Gheist Flache, only magical weapons could reach him and we had none.
Eventually the leaders decided to pass to the left of the central crag and we
moved onwards. At the foot of a large crag on the left was a big pond with two
large boars drinking there.
“Are those some of Beevil’s creatures?”
Graf Silth asked Natalie.
“Not as far as I know but he could have
taken control of their minds. They are known to have uncertain tempers anyway.”
“Bacon for breakfast? Should we fire at
them?” asked Cant.
“No we had best conserve the quarrels.
We should have enough food anyway.” answered Graf Silth.
Whether under the control
of the demon Beevil or not, the boar’s decided to charge our leading four
Verdini scouts. These have obviously been used to hunting such creatures and
soon slew both with their spears. But not before one called Pegrin had suffered
a nasty tusk wound in his side. The nurse Poma rushed to bandage it and we all
closed up on the scouts. The Verdini cuts the tusks and hooves off the boars but
no meats as we heard heavy padding coming from behind us. We saw five great
Whorgi racing towards us and Sir Sure and other dwarves rushed back to protect
us. They and the Verdini spearmen slew three and the remaining two fled.
Meanwhile two enormous
butterflies attacked those in the van of our formation and there was a third
aimlessly flittering further away. Later it and a fourth one also attacked us
and between them all the knocked three over including Halberdier Hak whop was
stunned. Vaggson told us that having knocked a victim down these creatures then
drain his blood through their twin proboscis. With so many of us they did not
get the chance to attempt this but kept their massive wings fluttering trying to
knock their opponents over. They might have done better had they operated in
concert. Vaggson said later that they should not have hatched out so early in
the year but Natalie declared that the Magicks of the Sorceress Matrigna would
have speeded it up. Meanwhile whilst still under butterfly attack arrows started
to fall around. Looking up we saw half a dozen archers loosing from a ledge on a
crag to the left. Druid Barbver picked
an arrow up, “Elves! We might have known some of those double dealers would aid
Beevil!”
Our two crossbow dwarves returned the
fire and I think achieved at least one hit. The much vaunted Elf archery seemed
lacking as apart from a couple of arrows stuck in shields their fire was
ineffective! So much so, that Graf Silth ordered us to advance once more. We had
not gone far when a strong body of Elves emerged from some trees and charged us.
“Charge!” roared Graf Silth and we all moved forward as best we could. The elves
actually overlapped our front rank but it availed them little. We had the
Verdini warrior Kauld killed but the elves lost four down. This unnerved them
and they immediately ran away. Some of our people would have chased after them
but Graf Silth ordered us to stand, for fear of us being lured into a trap. He
permitted Cord and Cant to fire after them and another was felled. However we
then saw the elf archers on the crag also leave, so we realised that victory was
ours. Even the Imps perched on the crags had disappeared, although we knew that
they could well watch us from the Spoinage Flache unseen. It was now past midday
and we could see the empty grasslands beyond the Glade. A couple of scouts
reported that they could not see the Placki or anyone else out there so after
some discussion, Graf Silth decided we should camp for the night beside the
pond. Water was known to be scarce out on the plains. Further Vaggson wished to
bury Kauld decently. This the Verdini did with each one finding a stone to place
on top of the grave. The elf bodies were left in a heap for the vultures to feed
on. They carried no money but we recovered a spear, three swords and three round
shields. The weapons we gave to the Verdini but Princess Griselda, Lady Shalaka
and myself, were given a shield each. Since the Huns were mostly horse archers,
they would give us some protection against arrows. I was interested to see that
the elves did have pointed ears and green eyes as told in the histories. I
wondered if all the stories of their dishonesty and trickery were true? The
dwarves have had problems with their arrogance and immorality for centuries.
However it seemed strange to me that they have always been fighting for the
Lawic cause and in fact that Valhoth
Valarian’s fortress is in an elvish state! Mentioning some of this Vaggson
told me that the elves we fought were the Argentairi who had served in the
Chaotic army at one time.
The Verdini cut some
haunches off the two boars and also skinned the three Whorgi bodies. We did have
roast pork to eat that night. Princess Griselda made several sketches of the
actions and of the giant butterflies. Three were mainly of a buff colour but the
fourth was a bright blue. Lady Shalaka cut those wings into small pieces in the
hope that she might make a cloth dye from them in time.
That evening I asked Natalie
where she had come from. I had only read brief mentions of Cherubs in my studies
and had even doubted their actual existence. Natalie said that she was a
daughter of Opita Dam the Magha of
Motherhood and Mercy. She had been assigned to serve Bindrell a Thalian Amazon
Princess. She had been trained as a midwife and healer and served on after
Bindrell’s death. Then some years ago the young Queen Ancalime decided that to
help promote sales of their Thalian silk, they should send forces to aid the
Lawic cause. Raids from the goblins of Porcia and the Norsemen from Nor had been
decisively beaten off. A fleet of hanoes
was assembled and loaded with silks and Amazon warriors. The Council of Elders
decided that she accompany it and was given the Tome of
Mathoth to aid her powers. The fleet
sailed down the Freshwater Lake, the Undomeil River, the Deepwater Lake and into
the River Arwen. They called at the Great City of Ekthalon. That was the capital
of the Royal Province of Thentis, then ruled by Prince Moro brother of King
Reginald of Foix. He was assembling a force to join the Lawic Army of the East
commanded by his son Prince Eudes. So Queen Ancalime, having unloaded the silks,
accompanied this Thentian army on down the Arwyn. As everyone knows, they
campaigned in for years in Limura, Hunara and Hamora culminating in the great
victory of Lungstrete. Natalie had been left treating wounded in several places
until she came to Matrigna’s one at the Salubral Spring. “And you know what
happened after that.”
I discussed this story with
the others. They were most struck with the news that Natalie had lived with the
Amazons. In our Dwarvish Histories the Thalian Amazons are rated as our enemies
without much reason given as to why. The Princess guessed that it was that all
the books were written by male dwarves who did not like females to have the
freedom the Amazons seemed to have. I mused that again like the Elves, the
Thalian Amazons were normally on the side of Law. Of course the mythical Amazons
of Durgan were reckoned to be the worst sort of Chaotics and perhaps the stories
got mixed.
A good watch was kept during
the night but there were no incidents. The dawn broke to another fine day, only
warmer than yesterday. A slight
breeze came from the east as we advanced out onto the grasslands. They were
green this time of year. As we plodded forward with the forest becoming ever
more distant, we and I think the Verdini felt exposed and vulnerable. To forest
people unused to seeing nothing for myles around, the grasslands are
frighteningly unreal! Even more so for we dvaus who had spent most of our lives
in the Naug Fortress! As the Princess said “There is not much here to sketch!”
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