A Date With Faet

The weather remained grey and dull when we woke the following morning, and there was a chill in the air. Kelly worked the healing spell on my leg then we got dressed and emerged from our tent.

Everyone stayed quiet as we all had breakfast, then camp was quickly broken up and before long we were on our way again.

Siobhan and two other soldiers took the lead, followed by Maeve and Kelly and me. The soldiers up front would be watching for mundane trouble, while the three of us in the second row were all wary for any magical threats. At least, I was pretty sure both Kelly and my fae-mom were using their magical awareness, but both of them seemed to think I was more talented at it than either of them despite being so new to the whole thing.

The sky remained overcast and dull, and without being able to track the sun we weren't really able to tell time so well. Still, it seemed like about mid-afternoon when Siobhan stated "There it is. Duma Dé."

Our little group was just coming over another low hill, and we saw it in the distance. It was a hill, but it was very different from the sort of hills we'd been travelling up and down. Duma Dé was clearly not a natural feature.

It was a wide, low, circular hill with a flat top. It was probably close to a hundred meters across at the base, and thirty or forty meters in diameter at the top. It rose about fifteen or twenty meters up above the surrounding landscape, which was flat and relatively clear for at least a kilometer all around.

Both the hill and the surrounding terrain was more of the same rocky ground and short scrub grass, with occasional tufts of weeds here and there.

"What is it?" Kelly asked quietly. "It looks sort of like a burial mound."

Siobhan replied, "It might be. No-one knows for sure. There's at least a half dozen of them, maybe a dozen, scattered around Otherworld. Always in this sort of landscape though, always remote. Nobody knows who made them, they're ancient. Some say they pre-date even the fae."

That sounded pretty incredible, considering how long fae lived. I asked, "Hasn't anyone tried to dig into one and see what's inside?" It sounded like the sort of thing archaeologists would be all over.

"No-one would dare." Siobhan answered.

Maeve explained, "Duma can mean burial mound, or it could mean sacred mound. And Dé usually means 'of the Gods'. So, Duma Dé could literally mean the 'burial mound of the Gods'. With a name like that, nobody wants to risk damaging one of them."

The captain added, "The Duma Dé were also said to be meeting-places of the Gods, where they held their court. Some legends say these places are where the Gods came to Otherworld to meet with kings and queens, or other important fae, to help or hinder them, and to pass judgement."

It all sounded very impressive, and after everything I'd learned and experienced in the past few months I wasn't about to doubt or question any of this stuff. Gods or not, it sounded like Maeve and Siobhan were respectful of this place, so I would be as well.

As we got closer, I spotted some tiny sparks of light flitting about at the top of the mound. They were too small and we were still too far away to know what I was seeing. They were too big to be fireflies, and it was too light out to see fireflies anyways, but that's what they reminded me of.

I asked, "Can anyone else see those lights up there? What are they?"

Maeve replied quietly, "Those are pixies. It's said they protect places like this."

"They might be keeping an eye on us," Siobhan added, "And it's possible they'll report our approach to Eileen if she's already here and made contact with them."

My fae-mom added, "Don't stare at them, don't laugh at them, be respectful. It's probably best to just ignore them."

"What are pixies?" I asked.

"Like fairies, but meaner." Maeve replied.

I wasn't sure how to take that, my expression probably showed I wasn't sure what she meant.

Kelly elaborated quietly, "Imagine Tinkerbell, except she'll stab you in the eyes if you look at her wrong. And slit your throat while you sleep if you dis her."

I stared at my girlfriend and for a moment, I thought she was kidding. Then realized she was deadly serious. "O-ok. I'll just try and ignore them then."

We were all quiet for another few minutes, then Siobhan pointed out "There's smoke coming up from the far side of the Duma. Eileen's probably already camped there."

"Then we'll set up on this side," Maeve announced.

Not long after, our caravan came to a halt about fifty meters away from the base of the mound. Everyone was quiet again as we dismounted, and the others started setting up camp.

It was a little slower this time, Siobhan had four soldiers take up positions as lookouts around the area that would be our camp. Kelly and I found some work this time, we were put in charge of guarding Liam since that freed up another soldier.

I felt kind of silly as I realized we could have done this the whole trip, rather than sit around doing nothing while everyone else worked. Kelly and me might not be soldiers, but I was pretty confident Liam wouldn't dare try anything if I was there keeping an eye on him.

And he didn't, he stayed put and was quiet and respectful.

As the others were just finishing getting things set up, Siobhan called everyone to attention. A soldier came to take over watching Liam, while me and Kelly were called to go stand with Maeve and the captain.

Our adversaries were approaching from around the side of the Duma. They came on horseback, while we were all on foot right now and we didn't have time to mount up. So we had to hope this would just be a friendly hello.

Eileen sat in the middle atop her horse. She was dressed for travel, but her travel clothes looked a lot finer than ours. She wore dark pants and boots, and a deep red jacket that looked like silk. The cuffs and collar were rich royal blue. Her long hair was golden blonde, it was currently drawn back into a long pony-tail that hung partway down her back. Her eyes were a sparkling blue, and her skin looked fair and perfect. Her lips were red, but were currently pulled tight in a slight scowl. She was quite an attractive woman, or at least she would be if she wasn't shooting daggers at us with her eyes.

She had six men with her, three to either side, all clad in metal armour. It looked like steel plates overtop of chainmail. All six were holding crossbows, the weapons were loaded and held ready. They also had swords at their hips.

On our side, everyone was tense and ready for trouble as we watched. The seven of them stopped several meters away, observing us all.

Eileen spoke first, her eyes on me and my fae-mom. "Well this is unexpected. Two Maeves? I thought perhaps the pixies were seeing double, when they reported two fae women with purple hair."

Maeve replied calmly, "Hello Eileen. Allow me to introduce my daughter, Tegan."

The blonde raised an eyebrow as she stared at me, "Is that so? I thought your child was barely into her twenties, Maeve. This young woman looks at least past her first century..." She pretended to remember, "Oh that's right, your girl spent time on Earth as a changeling, didn't she? So nice to see you have her back now, all grown up and looking like a proper young woman."

I could tell my fae-mom was aggravated by Eileen's words and tone. She stated, "We've come to talk, Eileen. Not trade barbs."

"Of course Maeve," the woman smiled slightly. "I see you're all just about settled in. Let us meet atop Duma Dé at sunset this evening. Then we may negotiate an end to our little disagreement."

Maeve nodded, "Sunset it is."

Eileen signalled, and she and her men turned and rode back the way they came, out of sight around the far side of the mound.

I think we all let out a sigh of relief when they'd left.

Everyone was quiet again after that, and it felt like the tension had been turned up just a little higher.

Siobhan disappeared for a while, but returned to join us for dinner. She sat with Maeve and Kelly and I, and reported "Eileen's camp is on the far side of the Duma. Her numbers match ours. I saw only the six men in armour, but she has another four soldiers to guard her camp. All were carrying crossbows, I saw no longbows. The rest of her group are servants and bearers."

After a pause the captain added, "The fact that she brought men in full armour at all is cause for concern I think, m'lady?"

"Yes," Maeve nodded. "Outfitting six men in plate and chain would have been a significant expense, and Eileen has nowhere near the resources I do."

Siobhan suggested, "If she's planning or expecting treachery, she may have opted to bring a smaller, stronger force, rather than a larger contingent of more-poorly equipped troops. Easier to move and control a half dozen knights, than a few dozen infantry."

"Indeed," Maeve nodded thoughtfully. "Our wildcards will be Tegan and Kelly. They will not know Tegan is capable of magic, they'll believe her to be a helpless liability. Eileen no doubt saw the bow Kelly's carrying, she'll assume that means Kelly is trained for combat." She addressed my girlfriend and added, "She won't know who you are, but will likely suspect you're a minor noble or visiting aristocrat. She'll assume you're trained in magic as well as the bow."

Kelly blushed, "I know a little magic but I'm not going to be anywhere near what you people can do."

Siobhan smiled, "Don't worry miss Kelly. We're just comparing forces and numbers. Like a game of strategy."

While I understood what the captain meant, I also knew this was definitely no game. Maeve knew it too, as she said to Kelly "We hope none of us need to resort to bow or sword or magic, but should they force it, at least we know you're capable."

The captain nodded and looked at me and my girlfriend as she explained, "With crossbows, they'll get the first shot away faster. After that, crossbows are useless in close quarters. They'll either drop them and draw swords, or they may pull back to reload. If they do attack, we'll have the advantage after the first volley."

Maeve looked at me and added, "Tegan for the most part I expect you to stay quiet and observe. Use your magical awareness, keep watchful for any magical traps or dangers, and for anyone attempting to use a spell."

"If Eileen does attack, you two do what you can," Siobhan stated. "My advice to you Lady Tegan and miss Kelly would be to retreat to safety. But in the heat of the moment, do as you must, do what you can."

I sighed, "I hope this doesn't actually turn into a battle. We're here for peace. We're here to end the conflict, not make things worse."

My fae-mom nodded, "I agree. There may be a show of force, Eileen may threaten or even challenge." She frowned, then decided "If Eileen wants a fight, then let her make the first strike. We will not attack."

Siobhan cautioned, "That could be risky, m'lady."

"I know," Maeve replied. "But my daughter is right. We came to make peace, not war."

The captain bowed slightly "Very well m'lady."

The four of us finished our meal in silence. Though to be honest, I had even less of an appetite than usual. I already had butterflies in my stomach and my heart was racing slightly.

I finally excused myself and went for a little walk around the camp. I knew not to stray far of course, I just needed to pace, to move. It was either that or start with the nervous chatter, and I was trying to break that habit.

After a minute or so I noticed Kelly had joined me. She slipped an arm around my waist and I did the same, as the two of us walked together. We walked quietly, just slowly circling our camp's perimeter. I could feel the tension in her body, and I knew she could feel how anxious I was too.

"It's going to be ok," she whispered.

I replied softly, "I hope you're right."

We didn't say anything else, there wasn't much more to be said. As sunset neared, we finally rejoined Maeve and Siobhan and tried to focus on what to come.