Temple of Dagda Part 1 - Episode Seven

When the cloud around Bridie cleared, the sorceress found herself faced with two choices; left or right? A path opened up before her, a wishbone going off from the road she stood on. As Bridie pondered which direction to take, her hand brushed against something long and hard hanging down by her thigh. She looked down; there was a pipe, a wooden pipe such as was played on Samhain to keep the spirits at bay. Bridie smiled and snapped her fingers. Of course! The rewards Fin Varra had spoken of. She felt something around her neck as well; reaching up, her fingers found and explored the necklace resting about her throat. It was rather tight, a little constricting to her breathing, and heavy, as though it were made of silver or gold. She tossed her head and decided to see what the rest of her looked like; no doubt she was all done up like a local...whatever they looked like.
She was right. Her tunic had been replaced by something that couldn't even be considered clothing; a maroon colored sleeveless...well, she supposed it was a shirt. Anyway, it took care of her modesty. Her trousers had been replaced by a small skirt, barely even there, and layered in shades of silver, gold, and bronze velvet.
Again, she knew what had been done. She was disguised as royalty; undoubtedly with enough gold lining her pockets to get answers from anybody she wanted. The necklace was a sign of royalty in every charted land; it too would answer any questions people had about her. The pipe would signify that she knew magic as well, and was powerful enough to do what had to be done. Her staff, still strapped to her back...alongside her sword, giving her the look of a warrior as well. The staff! Of course!
Bridie removed the staff from its holding, placing it on the ground before her, facing to the direct middle of the two paths.
"Path to the left, path to the right," she whispered, narrowing her eyes as she tried to recall the proper incantation. "Tell me, dear bata, give me clear sight."
A string of light shot from the mark of destiny on the stick, flying above the path to the left. Bridie nodded to herself, placing the staff back in its casing where it belonged.
"All right," she said, sighing as she thought about the long journey ahead, "I guess that means I go left."

Meanwhile, back in Kells...
"Rohan, Angus," said the princess, pulling back the door to their hut, "there you are. My father's sent Ivar and Garrett to tir na nOg, hoping to receive word of Bridie's progress. Fin Varra told us he'd keep close watch on her and tell us what happened; well, it's been nearly a week now, and I thought maybe..."
Rohan nodded. "We'll come as soon as we're finished here," he said. That was when Deirdre noticed that the boys had there hands behind their backs.
"What do you have there?" She asked, approaching them. They stood and backed up to the wall.
"Uhh...nothing, princess, nothing at all," Angus said. Deirdre grinned; she recognized that voice of his; he was hiding something from her.
"Come on," she prodded, stepping closer and closer to Rohan. Rohan's back was against the wall; he could go no further...not that he didn't try.
"Please, Deirdre," he said as her hands touched his abdomen. Rohan's shirt had ridden up, and part of his soft underbelly was showing. That was where Deirdre's hands went; her fingers poised on tickling. "Princess, no, please," he begged...to no avail, for she began tickling him. She knew he couldn't stand it; it was the quickest way to convince him to give.
"Tell me and I'll stop."
Rohan stopped laughing long enough to say alright, and her fingers stilled but remained where they were. He glanced at Angus, and the two of them sighed, bringing their hands out from behind their backs.
"We made these for you," Rohan said shyly, placing the flowered wreath atop her bright reddish hair. Angus' wreath was smaller and fit inside the other one, giving her the look of a fairy. "It's to show our appreciation for all you've done for us these past years; being our friend and all..."
Deirdre kissed Rohan on the cheek, hugging him for a bit longer than was proper.
"Where's my kiss?" Asked Angus. Deirdre pulled his face down to her gently and kissed him lightly on the forehead. Angus smiled, but realized how very much he missed Bridie; even just holding his hand on patrol, or watching him sleep. He knew she had done that often during the four or five weeks she'd been there; often he'd wished he could sneak up to her room in the castle and watch her as she slept; but he never had. He didn't like to think about what might have happened if he'd been caught sneaking into the castle at night. After all, he had been a thief once upon a time.
Deirdre spoke, pulling Angus out of his daydream.
"Thank you for the lovely gifts," she said, smiling warmly. Rohan blushed; Angus did a double take, glancing at his friend. Rohan, the big bad warrior...blushing? Unbelievable. The boy really had it bad, Angus thought to himself as the trio headed down to tir na nOg. Maybe it was written in the stars; Rohan and Deirdre. Their names even sounded nice together. Not like Garrett and Deirdre. Not at all. Rohan and Deirdre was like Angus and Bridie; write it on a tree, side by side, and it fit perfectly. Destiny was a funny thing, Angus thought, wondering if Bridie was thinking about him...wherever she was.

Bridie stopped for a rest near a roadside tavern, wondering if she should chance going inside and asking if anyone had seen Torq. How would she describe him, anyway? 'Hey, has anyone here seen a man with the head of a goat?' People would think she was mad. She shrugged and went inside, figuring someone must have seen him.
She stepped up to someone who looked like the owner of the place and tapped them on the shoulder.
"Excuse me," she said, "I'm looking for a man; a stranger, wearing a ram's head helmet, dressed in plated armor, a dark cape?"
The woman turned around, her face taking on the appearance of deep thought.
"I think I saw someone like that yesterday; sort of tall, with a thick reddish beard and an accent? Big front teeth?"
Bridie nodded. "That's him."
The owner nodded too. "Yeah, he came through yesterday, asking directions to Rome. I assume he wanted to know where the Coliseum is; so I told him, and he left."
"The Coliseum?"
"Yeah; big stadium where the best warriors go to fight; a lot of them are gladiators; most of them fight for money or sport. I think it's disgusting." The woman put the dishes she held into a basket and dried off her hands, holding one out to Bridie. "I'm Kora, by the way. This is my inn; do you want to have something to eat?"
Bridie shook her head.
"No, thank you, but I should be on my way. I have to catch up with this guy before he does what he's been ordered to do."
"You know, you sound so much like Hercules."
Bridie paused on her way to the door.
"Who?"
"Hercules. Half-mortal son of Zeus. His friend Theseus is the greatest tracker around; hey, Theseus!"
Bridie turned to gaze at the young man coming toward her...he looked so much like a young Ivar it was uncanny. And, although she hated to admit it, it looked like he was already developing a serious crush on her.
"Yeah?" Asked Theseus, talking to Kora but staring openly at Bridie.
"This is...I'm sorry, I didn't get your name."
"Bridie."
"Bridie. She's looking for that guy who stopped by yesterday. You saw him?"
"Uh-huh. Know where he was headed too. Looked suspicious to me. Why?"
"Well, she's looking for him...probably something personal, right?"
Bridie nodded. "He's the general of an army that is enemy to my kingdom."
Kora and Theseus both noticed the necklace as though for the first time.
"Oh," Theseus said softly, looking vaguely disappointed. Bridie didn't know why; he looked like royalty to her, as richly dressed as he was.
"I need someone, actually," Bridie put in, realizing that she really didn't want to travel alone in this strange country, "to help me track him down. Would you be willing to help me?"
Theseus gazed at her, nodded, a huge grin splitting his face ear to ear.
"Sure, I will," he said. "Just let me grab my stuff and we'll be on our way; but I've gotta go back to the academy to get my stuff. Do you wanna tag along? I can show you around, give you the grand tour."
"But Torq," Bridie began, and then she realized that it didn't really matter.
"It won't take me but a few hours to catch up to him," Theseus said, urging her to agree. His soft brown eyes were full of pleading, and she nodded.
"All right," she said. "I'll come. But only for the tour. Then we've got to get moving."
Theseus clapped his hands together. "Great!"
Bridie sighed as they started on the road to this academy, wondering what it was, what people did there. Wondering if she could really trust anybody, even Theseus; who seemed like an okay guy once she got him away from the inn. He was really quite interesting; but talking to him made Bridie miss Angus even more. She'd tried to block all memories from Kells out of her mind; but now it was growing late, and she was getting so sleepy. Her mental defenses were being depleted, lending strength to her body, keeping one foot going in front of the other was really all she could focus on.
Bridie saw Cheiron's Academy for the first time as a blur; a blur rising up and over her as she sank unconscious to the ground.

"I think she's coming around," said the masculine voice from somewhere in the gloom above Bridie. She opened her eyes again, searching through the haze, seeing a boy's form floating before her vision.
"Back away, give her some room to breathe," said another voice, a man's strong, deep accent forming the words carefully. She tried to sit up; her vision was clearing at last.
"Wha...what happened?" She asked, gazing around her. She saw many people, mostly male; one lone female in the middle, surrounded by two blond boys and Theseus. It reminded her of Deirdre and the boys back home. The man who had spoken last reached out a hand to help her up; she gazed in amazement at his hindquarters...he was half-horse. She looked into his eyes. "You're a centaur."
He nodded. "I'm Cheiron, head-master of this academy. Theseus told us your story; I've given him a leave of absence to help you on your quest."
"Thank you. I may be too late as it is."
"Too late for what?" Asked the blond boy with short hair. His arms were crossed before his chest; he looked like he, too, had gifts shared by few others. She felt that she could trust him, somehow.
"In my homeland there's a war that's been raging for as many years as I am old, maybe more. The queen of our enemies sent her general here, to recruit soldiers who will be able to defeat our strongest warriors; my duty is to find this general and stop him at any cost."
"Even your own life?" Asked the girl. "Is it worth it?"
Bridie nodded. "Yes. Very much so. If I don't stop this here, my kingdom will never win the war; and it is imperative that we do so."
The short haired boy glanced at Cheiron. "Maybe we should go with her, Cheiron."
"No, Hercules," said the centaur, "it is too dangerous. Theseus will lead her to her man, and return to the academy. If you went, you would try to fight her battle for her; this is something she must do on her own."
Bridie smiled. "You remind me of my friend back home. A druid."
Cheiron nodded. "Centaurs are known for their link with other powerful people...I sense a form of power in you. You must be a very important person in your homeland," he said, reaching out to touch her necklace, "you bear the mark of destiny on your arm, as well as the band of royalty around your neck."
"I am a princess; but not of much. I am a sorceress; the most powerful one known on our island."
Again Cheiron nodded, but Bridie felt there was more to it than just a simple sign of acquiescence.
"You should leave with the rising of the sun," he stated simply, turning to leave. "You must rest for your long journey."
Theseus and Bridie nodded, and the rest of the people left with the centaur; the girl and her two friends staying behind.
"Are you sure you don't want us to come with you?" Asked Hercules. Bridie nodded.
"Yeah. I should really do this on my own; it's sort of a requirement with quests in my kingdom. You do them on your own or they mean nothing."
The girl and the boy with longer, more curly blond hair stepped forward.
"I'm Lilith," said the girl, shaking Bridie's hand. "This is Iolaus..."
"Hi," interrupted Iolaus. "I'm single."
"Hi," said Bridie, shaking his hand. "I'm Bridie; and I'm taken. Sorry."
Iolaus' friends laughed.
"Too bad Jason's not here," said Hercules, leaning against a wall. "He'd love to meet you."
"Can I show you around now, Princess Bridie?" Asked Theseus, formally. Bridie slid off the bed she was sitting on.
"Sure; but then we'd better plan for tomorrow. It's gonna be a busy day."
She turned and looked at all her new friends.
"On second thought, why don't we go back to that inn. I'm suddenly famished," she said, surprised when everyone agreed exuberantly.
After all, what was a small delay going to cost? With her magic powers, she'd catch up to Torq in no time; and she wouldn't mind spending some down time in this strange and friendly land. Tomorrow was another day...

Rohan and the others headed to the mountains in the east after their meeting with Fin Varra. The little king had sent them to a temple there, so that they could see Bridie and her progress of the day. Rohan had other plans for the powers of the Temple; he wanted to see his birth.
"Rohan," Angus said, waving his hand before his friend's face as they rested. "Oh Roooohaaaan?"
"Huh?" Rohan said. Angus had expected his friend to startle as though waking from a dream, but he didn't. He merely kept staring ahead at nothing.
Angus scratched the side of his head. "Uhh; what are thinking about?"
"Nothing," Rohan said, blinking and standing up slowly, readjusting his sword. "Let's go; I'm curious about our friend."
"Your sister, Rohan," Ivar said softly, catching up to them at last with Garrett and Deirdre lagging behind. "I wonder who your mother is?"
Rohan shrugged. "Don't know. Come on."
"We're coming, we're coming," Deirdre said, struggling to pull Garrett up over an especially difficult pile of loose stones. "Always in such a hurry."
"Better to hurry than to arrive too late," Angus said, and his friends paused in thought.
"Well said, Angus," Garrett said softly. "Well said indeed."
Rohan merely nodded, continuing his long climb up the steep rock face. He could only recall having been this determined two other times in his life; the first was to obtain his armor, the second was one he was still working on...to make Deirdre realize how much he cared for her. Now he wanted to learn about his birth...who his mother was, what had happened to her, why he had been left at the orphanage. Why it had taken so long for Bridie to arrive there, as well. Had his mother just not wanted Rohan? Or was there more to it than that? He would ask the oracle in the temple to explain it to him, or at least to show him what he felt he had to see to understand.
Somehow, he would learn of it. And then what a tale he could tell Bridie; his sister; when she returned.
He also knew, throughout all of this pondering, that sooner or later he would have to talk to Mider, one on one, brother to brother. Maybe...there had to be...there was a way the two of them could work together to really end this war forever.