The events of the day played loudly in Rwbadd’s
mind as he lay restlessly in bed. The ancestors had been speaking of the ending
age for several years…and now it was upon them. As they had begun to leave the
beach, another dwr gwrach had come ashore. A much larger one than the first to
hear his children tell the tale. Given the general alertness among the families
now, it achieved nothing but a swift return to the brine from whence it had
sprung. The children had returned to the shore the next morning to try again to commune with the dolphins...only to be greeted by a beach strewn with mangeld dolphin carcasses being picked at by flocks of birds. Something horrible had happened beneath the waves last evening. Was it in retribution for their help?
It was clear that life as it had been
was now over. As the old women said, “Dwr gwrach, gwrach ddwr.” Indeed, where
one finds witch water, one will find a water witch. The clan matriarch, his
wife, had heard and seen these things in her childhood. The Tribes Under the
Sea would occasionally raid her village in Shire Derwenlas, and those raids
were often heralded by the dwr gwrlach. But that was out past Lyr’s Watch and
far to the north up the coast. And dolphins had been the friends of men
throughout the age, and apparently still held concern for the affairs of Man.
Well, perhaps just the affairs of Women.
He chuckled a bit at the thought of his fiery
daughters. So much of their mother in them! He rolled over and gazed quietly at
his sleeping bride. Kymeth was the perfect mother and wife. A better Lady a Lord
never had in all the Shires! The whole of Glamorganshire was a more beautiful place
because she was there. She directed the children to pack for the long journey north to the House of Lyr where they were sure to find answers. What would have only been a few days journey up the coast now would be a week or more overland journey. Maggie was not up for travel as she still was not fully recovered from her time with the Stunted King. She would remain behind and help with work around the village. The rest would travel with Kymeth and Jon to her kinsmen. She would rally aid in the Shires to the north to get to Lyr. After that...
His thoughts wandered again to the final event
of the evening...Gweilch had called out to Grandfather and led him up to Cairn
Morgan. They disappeared into the darkness together and Gweilch came out a short
bit later and sat on the entry stone, keeping watch. Not unusual for him to
commune with the ancestors, but it did mean there would be no disturbing him
until he returned.
How dark it must be in that cairn. And quiet.
Quiet.😑
Too quiet.
👀He laid perfectly still as his mind sprang to
complete clarity. There were none of the normal sounds of night. No animals
snorting, no insects humming. There was a faint sloshing sound…an unnatural
sound…followed by a muffled gurgle…and then quiet.
Hand sliding to the side of the bed and firmly grasping the hilt of his sword, he felt the raised
markings on his shoulder. As he traced them, his sword began to glow a faint
blue. His feet found the floor without a sound and like a shadow he was at the
door.
There was no one else awake in the room and the
sound had come from outside so he took a moment to silently rouse his wife. The
look in his eyes told her all she needed to know. Silently and efficiently, she
moved through the room and soon they all crouched in the darkness with weapons
at the ready. He carefully opened the door and looked out into the moonscape.
As he opened the door, a warm, rusty smell greeted him. Throughout the porch
and over the front of the house was what used to be one of his dogs…only the
head was slightly recognizable.
Only a moment was possible to mourn the fine
animal before two masses of tentacles writhed up to the doorway, hissing and
moaning as they came. The back door to the dwelling exploded inward with more
tentacled masses undulating through.
“ALARM! ALARM! LOOK TO YOUR WOMEN AND CHILDREN!”
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