Life on the road (Nimueh)

[amelia]

Amelia wandered down the muddy woodland road, her feet ached with every step and she was exhausted. If she did not stop soon she would pass out with exhaustion. She noticed a fallen log on the side of the road and decided she would rest there for a moment. She placed her pack, that dangled off her right shoulder, on the ground beside her.

"I'll rest just a moment" She said to herself as she removed her boots to air her swelling feet. There was a clink of metal as she dropped her boots on the ground. She looked and saw her father's daggers protruding out of sheaves she had attached to her boots.

She straightened up and closed her eyes taking in the calming noises around her. She was reminded of the childhood, when she would sit around a warm fire with her fire with her father and the two of them would take great pleasure in admiring the serene calm and beauty of the forest around them.

She was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of movement nearby. She opened her eyes and looked in the direction the noise came from. Two men came out from behind the trees in front of her. They laughed like they had just hit the mother lode but they were wrong.

"Hand over your belongings and we won't hurt you" One of he men said.

"Much" Another piped up making the other one laugh again.

"Not likely" Amelia said and she grabbed the daggers from her shoes before standing.

The two men looked taken aback by this but they advanced anyway. She was able to fend them off but unknown to her they were not alone and before she knew what was happening she was grabbed from behind with a knife to her throat.

"Drop the weapons" The man with the knife said.

She dropped them and watched as three more men appeared from behind the trees. She was in serious trouble.

_{Setting: Woods outside Camelot
Time: Early Afternoon
Tags: Nimueh}

[Deleted]

Nimueh Ó Liatháin was on the road again. Lately it seemed like she did nothing else than travelling through the kingdoms. Of course she could have transported herself without the usual hassle of walking, but lately it seemed to cease to be a novelty. Also, the walking kept her in shape, one never knew when she needed to be fast in an instant. Not that she would ever run from anything, though…
And finally, she could keep an eye on the world while travelling it. Many interesting things happened on the road, things that could shape a kingdom’s history. It was good to be in the midst of it from time to time, not only watching.

Speaking on interesting adventures… Just now the High Priestess could hear voices on the path in front of her, just as the muddy track moved around a slope. She couldn’t add figures to the voices yet, but she heard snippets that made her body tense in alarm. The rough voices of several men, then a woman responding, quick huffing and then silence, followed by the harsh, audible demand: ‘Drop the weapons!’
Someone definitely was in trouble. Not that Nimueh would care about the victim’s wellbeing, but it might be entertaining to watch.

Muttering “Forswige!“ she disguised the noises her feet made on the leafy ground and climbed the slope to watch the scene from above. The view she got confirmed what she had already presumed: A band of men held a woman captured, posing a knife at her throat. What Nimueh observed immediately was that the woman possessed magic, and not of the petty sort! The aura around her was quite strong, and Nimueh cocked her head in confusion. Why didn’t she fight? Why didn’t she use her abilities to ward off these men?

Had she been inclined to move on with a shrug just a second ago, Nimueh now changed her mind. This girl still meant nothing much to her, but she was in some parts of Nimueh’s kind. And the times were too rough to let even only one witch be harmed. One never knew when she could come in handy. Gaining another sorceresses goodwill was nothing one could brush off lightly nowadays. And wasn’t she a High Priestess? She had too look out for her kind!
Stepping to the edge of the slope she shoved her hand in the direction of one of the men, calling: “Astrice!” With a cry of surprise he flew backwards and crashed against a tree trunk, sliding down unconscious.

Slowly Nimueh pushed the hood of her cloak off her head and demanded icily: “Let her go!”

[amelia]

Amelia stood completely frozen, she could feel the cold of the metal blade to her throat. Usually she would use her magic to protect herself but with her being so close to Camelot she was terrified she would get caught, plus she was still learning and she didn't know if she could beat them. She didn't know what she was going to do.

"Astrice" A voice came from somewhere and one of the men flew back wards into a tree trunk. A woman appeared and removed her hood "Let her go"

A moment of hesitation allowed her to elbow the man with the knife to her throat in the stomach. He toppled back slightly. The shock of that and what the other woman did made the men flee. Amelia breathed a sigh of relief and picked up her daggers. She sat back on the log and looked at the cuts on her feet. She looked over at the woman.

"Thank you" She said.

[Deleted]

This band of cutthroats seemed not to be of the courageous sort. As soon as they saw her using magic they froze like deers in the headlight. This the fellow witch used to her greatest advantage, pulling a stunt that would have sent Nimueh gasping had she been one of the feeble sort. She simply knocked the man in the stomach with her ellbow, regardless of the knife on her throat and luck seemed to be on her side. The man holding her recoiled and then fled, together with his companions, even leaving their unconscious friend where he was.

Within a moments notice the little clearing was deserted, apart from the witch who now sat on a nearby log, examining the damage done.
Nimueh climbed down the slope and approached the young woman, a disdainful smirk on her lips. “What cowards they were! If it was only for me, they could have put up a bit more of a fight, instead of running on the first sight of a little magic. But I guess, for you it was better this way.”

Nimueh bowed her head in greeting and waved the woman’s thanks aside. “It was nothing. Our kind has to look out for each other, right? Not to sound disrespectful, but… you are either foolish or you know when to trust your luck. That stunt with the elbow could have easily get you killed. Did you not think about how he could have sliced your throat out of accident while recoiling?”
Then her gaze fell on the girl’s swollen feet and she clucked her tongue in honest commiseration. “That must hurt! Let me deal with this scum against the tree first and then I’ll come back to you on that. What do you say… shall he live or shall he be punished correctly for what he and his friends did?”

If it was only for Nimueh the man would have long since been dead, but sometimes it was better to not act rash. She still needed this girl’s goodwill for now, even if she didn’t know how she could possible exploit this new acquaintance as of yet. But she was sure to think of something eventually. She always did.

[amelia]

Amelia listened to the other womens words and couldn't help but smile. She was still looking at her feet and could not believe it, not only were they sore from all the walking, they now have cuts all over them.

"King Uther has forbidden magic. It's possible they have never seen anyone use before" That was the reason why she didn't use it, that and the fact she was still learning and would probably mess up the spell.

She looked up at the women when the next words came.

"I didn't really think about it. I just acted" She really couldn't believe her dumb luck either.

She watched as the other women turned to the unconscious man near the tree. "Let him live. His life must be bad if he is forced to rob a women. Killing him would be doing him a favor. Besides it is not his fault. Uther cares not for his people. He lets them starve while he lives a life of luxury in his castle. He is blind to the suffering of his people"

[Deleted]

Nimueh nodded to the young woman’s words, cocking her head in thinking. “You might be right, and it’s good that they respect the power of magic, but in their cases they fear what they don’t know. They are afraid of rumors and scary tales, and it is a shame to see what the magical world has come down to. A brave enough man might even take his chances with the ancient power, but these ones”, she spat on the ground, “they do not deserve any description apart from extreme cowardice!”

Like everytime that matter came up, Nimueh had talked herself into a bit of a rage. Her, who had still witnessed the glorious time of a rule sided by magic, felt her heart of stone bleed with every indication of how these times had been thoroughly ground to dust. Another witch almost falling prey to common robbery because she was either too afraid to use her gift or to unexperienced to do so. How many of these poor creatures were still out there, in constant fear for their lives?
“Either way, call yourself lucky, my child. May I know your name?”

With a scornful expression, Nimueh bowed her head slightly to show that she would honor the other witch’s wishes. So that man would live to see another day, even if he truly didn’t deserve it. Maybe that girl was not yet hardened enough to survive the life as a nomad? Though her obvious dislike for Uther immediately moved to Nimueh’s credit side. Truly, it would have been peculiar for a magical creature to have any affection left to Camelot’s ruthless king. “You are quite right there. I’ve seen the luxury of his life first hand, and ever since his heart turned to stone he seems to value treasures like a goblin, not caring anymore for his people’s wellbeing! He might have still become a great king… now he is only the shadow of one, a tyrant who’s unfortunately favoured by chance.”

Neglectfully, Nimueh held a hand over the outlaw’s limp body, murmuring: “swif!”¹ This way he would not wake up anytime soon and disturb the two women. His stupor was prolonged for a few hours, if not even a day.
Then, the High Priestess walked over again and knelt in front of the girl’s feet. “Now let me see to that, please! Blóddolg, ágíeme þurh mín bebodrædenne. i áh ágíemende ríce²!” she murmured, but her voice was laced with the true authority of a High Priestess.


¹: "Sleep!"
²: "Wound, heal through my command! I have the power to heal!"

[amelia]

Amelia listened to what she said with interest, she was right about them being cowards. She looks at the woman and thought she saw a hint of sadness.

"My name is Amelia" She was hesitant to give her name but the woman had just saved her so she had to be polite.

She watched her put the man to sleep with magic. She then watched as her feet were healed.

"Thank you" She said with a smile. "May I know your name?"

Sorry for the lateness and the shortness of the reply. I lost of Internet and now I'm looking after my gran.

[Deleted]

Amelia… an uncommon name for sure, Nimueh pondered. Was that girl noble born and had been disinherited in shame? Or was it her parents just had a fancy for slightly noble sounding names? Well, it was by no means her concern, now that she had done her work. Nimueh could be on her way this very instant, and indeed, maybe she should. But something kept her. The feet were now successfully healed and the High Priestess moved back to her feet, rubbing her hands. “There, as good as new, Amelia! But maybe you should make more breaks in between the next time, alright? Human feet are so very unsuited for long walks!”

Did that sound overly patronizing? Well, maybe, but from what she had seen already Nimueh thought herself high above the young witch and she might have saved her life but that didn’t mean she would regard her as an equal. In her eyes, this girl still had much to learn… which once again fuelled an idea Nimueh had had for quite some time now…
“I am Nimueh Ó Liatháin!” she spoke matter-of-factly, her tone giving away a natural pride and authority that came with her status. Then again, times were so bad you couldn’t be sure this name was recognized at all by anyone, let alone her own kind. Twenty years before she now would have received the honors she deserved, a bow, maybe even a prostration. Now? She would have to wait and see and not expect anything at all.

[Sorry it took me so long!!]

[amelia]

Amelia looked at her with awe. She had come out of nowhere and used magic to save her. She had never encountered anyone as brave as her, especially in using magic in Camelot territory and the way she held herself was proud and authoritative that she could not help but be impressed.

"It is a pleasure to meet you" Amelia said with a smile.

Her name seemed familiar, maybe she had read about in her magic book and she was too afraid to say anything in case is was not her and she took offense. She looked over at her things and noticed that her spell book and several other things had fallen out of her bag. She scrambled around to pick them up.

[Deleted]

Alright, so there was no prostration and not even a comment on her name, but the look of admiration in the young woman’s eyes was very well fit to let Nimueh overlook this minor glitch in the system. Wasn’t it even better she was being admired for something she had done, not only because of who she was? As much of a self-centered being Nimueh could be – not that she ever would admit that to herself – she still held onto the belief that titles should be earned, not simply possessed for nothing. She had been the old High Priestess’ daughter but that didn’t automatically make her the successor. Had there been a priestess more apt than Nimueh, then it would have been her to claim the status and priviliges, but also the duty of being the leader of the magical world.
Nimueh had worked hard to become the very best, to earn what could be considered hers by birthright.

“And it’s a pleasure to meet you, my child!” she answered and bowed her head once more. This form of address was by no means condescending, it was the usual way to call a young sorceress, as the High Priestess was seen as some kind of surpreme mother over them all.

Noticing the books and other things on the ground Nimueh squatted down herself and retrieved a thick volume from the muddy path, shaking it a little to cleanse it.
“Gomary’s Guide to Magic!” she commented, smiling in reminiscence. “I learned my very first spells from that book… a long, long time ago!” Wasn’t it almost a century? Even more? Nimueh had to admit she had lost the track of time of her younger years, they all seemed to coalesce into a long peaceful summer, spent either on the Isle of the Blessed or at Camelot’s court. Only the last twenty years were branded into her mind with what seemed like every single day.

She handed the book back. “Is there someone teaching you, or do you have to learn it all on your own?”