Story : Atop the Long Mynd
From Ars Magica
Contents |
Bodbury Ring and the Burway
As the magi Ambrosius and Mnemosyne, accompanied by Geraldous, Alicia, Llewys, Blathmac and pack animals, set off up the Long Mynd, their pace was matched by the rise of morning sun. Geraldous had chosen the easiest, most direct route up, a simple track known as 'The Burway' which began fairly close to Church Stretton. The fresh spring air, and bright sunlight brought cheer to the company. Blathmac lagged behind and he kept up an almost constant stream of quiet nonsense sounding braying and neighing sounds to the mules. He paused now and again as they made their characteristic sound, and seemed to be listening to them thoughtfully. All in all, it looked almost as though he was conversing with and cajoling them up the path.
It took less than an hour for them to get partway up The Burway, and as they neared the top, they were able to appreciate two of the better known features of the Long Mynd. The most prominent feature, from the point of view of the villagers, was a large valley adjacent to Church Stretton replete with a river and waterfall. However, it was clear from above that the valley was well-visited, numerous signs of human industry including paths, a flock of sheep, and some drystone shelters for them. To the north lay a more interesting prospect. On the crest of a hill overlooking Church Stretton and the valley was some kind of defensive earthwork.
Visiting the earthwork would evidently require descending and gaining the other summit by a different route, while The Burway continued on in a mostly north-westerly direction.
Mnemosyne took the opportunity of a short halt, to slide off the horse she had been clinging to grimly. She staggered over to a patch of gorse and threw up noisily. It was mostly dry wretching as she had not eaten anything yet that morning - which made her feel all the more awful. Blathmac ran to the horse that Mnemosyne had abandoned and with a nod to the maga which was respectful but perfunctory, neighed softly to the horse which neighed back somehow managing to look annoyed. Blathmac chuckled softly neighed again and began to adjust the horses saddle and trappings.
Alicia approached Mnemosyne, "Salve maga. I wonder, if the riding makes you so sick, why you do not walk?"
Mnemosyne shook her head silently, not trusting herself to speak yet. Eventually she recovered enough to respond. "You make a good point, Alicia. While even with my affliction I can ride faster than I can walk, we are going as fast as our slowest members. Perhaps the lad would like to take a spell on the beast. It has been ensorcelled to make it more bidable."
"I'm not slow!" cried Llewys, brandishing his walking stick in mock indignation and flashed a cheeky grin at Mnemosyne. As she dismounted, he ran past giving her a wide berth, and took up position next to Geraldous at the front.
Mnemosyne tottered back to the horse and took off a waterskin to wash the taste of bile from her mouth. Feeling slightly more human she approached Ambrosius. "I suggest we continue along this route and investigate further. It is likely there will be other sites to survey once we reach the top. We can visit the hill fort on the way back, without going all the way back down into the valley and back up again. In any case, I suspect that place will prove to be too close to the village for our purposes, unless it has some truely outstanding features to compensate."
The Portway
The path continued up onto the Long Mynd, appearing small, but well-used. A few tumuli lay off to the sides of the path as they ascended, while below, they could see the river and waterfall of the large valley winding its way down into Church Stretton. A flock of sheep and a shepherd idled close by the water in the morning sun.
Abruptly, they found themselves faced with three ways to proceed. The path they followed continued straight, with a turning winding off to the right, and a little further down, a similar turning winding off to the left.
A modest burial mound sat in the crook of the junction where the path split off to the right. Beyond, a wide greenway bisected the three paths, running north along the top of the Mynd. The center path appeared to run up to some sort of large tumulus. The right hand path wandered away and over the crest of the Long Mynd, while the left hand path passed through a boggy area at the top of a small, narrow valley, before continuing on toward some kind of ruin in the distance.
Mnemosyne pondered the three way juncture. Without a guide, they were just wandering aimlessly. Which was fair enough really. They would hopefully stumble across something interesting in due course and hopefully anywhere with a strong magical aura should be able to alert them to an interesting place. "Let us go and survey this large barrow ahead - if nothing else, it may give us a better view. In the meantime Geraldous, ride up along the right path and see if you can make out what is beyond the crest, or if it deceiving. If there is nothing of much interest in that direction, I suggest we head toward the ruins. A landmark at least..."
At his name, Geraldous looked around quickly, making sure he caught the rest of the announcement from Mnemosyne. Satisfied that he hadn't missed anything important he interrupted with "Aye Ma'am", caught his horse's attention with a pull on the reins, wheeled it to the right, and put his heels in, stirring it to action.
She cocked an eyebrow at Ambrosius to see if he had anything to say on the matter as she walked along beside him, toward the burial mound. She noticed, as Geraldous spurred his horse into a canter, that the animal responded somewhat sluggishly, and was evidently retiscent about the idea of expending any more energy than was necessary to keep the spurs from its sides. As Geraldous cantered away, Llewys kept pace, running happily alongside with his rucksack bouncing around behind him.
Seeing him, Geraldous reined in his horse, pulled his helm back lifting the coif with it, and called out to the lad. "You stay back there, and make sure they all stay safe. I'll not be long away here".
Llewys's happy expression faded as he stumbled to a halt, and turned about to look at Ambrosius. He wasn't entirely convinced by Geraldous's quick instruction; he had heard such things before, and it didn't seem to him like there was a great deal he needed to do to protect two magi. He glanced at his sturdy stick, and wondered how well he would fare against a pair of large wild boar as he began to make his way down toward the others. He was still thinking his courageous effort to boldly protect Ambrosius from imaginary beasts when his feet brought him to the others. He was giving his stick another swish at an unseen adversary, when the second horses's shadow fell over him, jolting him out of his day-dream.
Alicia looked up at the sun, then back to her companions, "Maga Mnemosyne, I do not know if Ambrosius has told you of my ... condition." She took a deep breath, "I am a shapechanger, not a Bjornaer not even Gifted, but with a certain gift. There is a cost, though and since we are now travelling together it is best that you know of it. At sunrise, sunset and noon the change comes upon me. Sometimes I can delay it and I can sometimes control what form I take, but change I must. We still have some time before the noon change will come, but I thought I should warn you. You might also wish to know that one of the forms which I can take is that of a falcon - which might be of use in our explorations."
Mnemosyne nodded. "Yes, it was mentioned to me this morning. A very interesting problem you have there, Alicia. You have my commiserations. On the other hand, as you say it could be of some use to us right now. If you were to find yourself in falcon form, then you could scout the surrounding area very nicely and spot anything of interest. Of course, what we're looking for may not be obvious from the air, but it certainly worth a try. Good thought and my thanks." She smiled at the woman and realised that she had underestimated her.
On the right track - to the earthen ring and mound
Resitting the helm square on his head, Geraldous drove the horse forward again, and headed off, droppping out of site over the ridge line shortly later. Reaching the ridge, he stopped his mount, which seemed grateful for a chance to rest. The ridge was marked by a wide flat path of well-trodden earth and stunted vegetation, that was clearly the much mentioned Portway. Here and there, the passing of flocks of sheep had left such signs as they were want to do; the odd wisp of wool snagged on the heather, and sheep droppings hither and thither.
The ancient earthwork at the end of the path that Mnemosyne was leisurely walking along was much larger than the others seen thus far, and there appeared to be large stones set around the base of the mound. That he could see anything of the stones at all lay solely upon the fact that it appeared to be popular with the sheep.
Before him, he could see his path continued down from the ridge a little way, near a strange earthen bank, shaped like a large ring, which surrounded an equally high mound. Unlike the other one, it was covered in course grasses and heather, but even beneath that covering of vegetation, Geraldous could make out the general form. A low but steep bank before the mound turned the path to the north, where it continued to wander off through the heather.
Appraising the ground, Geraldous made the decision to head forwards, and check the earthen ring. Leaving the path, he swung out on a wide arc, taking himself to a position where he could see behind the line of the bank, but not be so close that he could be surprised by anything lurking there. He reined in his horse, and sat, observing behind the bank, and towards the earthen ring. After a few seconds, he swung his shield off his back onto his left arm and, still mounted, slowly walked his horse forward.
The course grass was not nearly as high as it looked, barely covering his steeds knees as it walked down the far side of the ridge topped by the ancient greenway. He continued forward, warily, for the best part of a hundred metres; leaving the path where it curved away. He stopped at the base of a steep slope of the outer ring. He knew he would have trouble persuading his horse to climb up the slope in its peculiarly exhausted condition, and despite being atop a horse bred for war, Geraldous could not see over the top of the circular bank before him.
As he is looking at the circular earthwork, the others crest Pole Bank (Llewys first, and the others right behind), which he will see in his peripheral vision. They will be outlined against the sky.
The Middle Way
You all crest the ridge (Pole Bank, though you may not know the name), in time to see Geraldous move right upto the edge of the outer, circular bank of earth. He is close enough that you can make out his body movements, but not his facial expressions. If you shout, he will hear you (vague sounds), but not vice versa, due to the wind direction. In front of you is the large barrow previously described. It looks to be in fairly good condition, though the large stones cladding the base are only exposed to the elements in a couple of places. The path peters out not far from the mound, as visitors and sheep can wander unhindered any which way they choose.
