Summary:Betty goes to see the Morrigan to retrieve the token that Astryd needs. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
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Betty Brant has a job to do for Astryd and Fenris. That job is to walk the Morrigan's Underways and retrieve Astryds' Favour from a Warrior who is in the Morrigans keeping. Eoghan is his name. Sif has agreed to accompany the younger blonde and keep her safe, as she can.
Betty and Sif have been travelling those Ways for an hour or so and have encountered some trouble along the way - nothing that Sif couldn't deal with of course. Now, they can see the light at the end of tunnel.
Quite Literally.
There's light just up head and the scents of Summer roll down the tunnel. Sweet and fresh and … almost full of hope.
Betty Brant glances at her mentor from time to time. Her attire was more like Sif's than ever before. Armor, finely crafted and marked with runes of her own blood and will. Hair up, braided and kepts away, she looks down at the sword in her hand and the buckler against her arm. This was what she was now, something of their ilk though lesser in a number of ways. She's make small talk when she could, even offer her companion a smile from time to time. Encouragement. She'd get the job done. They would get the job done.
As the light bleeds out before them, she pauses in step and gives a shake of her head. "Wait," she whispers softly, the grip on her weapon tightening briefly. "I don't trust this."
Being on constant alert for the entire walk in the Underways was wearing, but Sif had long since trained for this sort of task. She will rest when they're safely back on Midgard proper. Her own coal black hair is pulled up into a ponytail, but allowed to hang freely from that single restraint. The small talk might not have gone over terribly well, but Sif would have tried as she could, understanding that conversation is the Midgardian way of easing tension and mentally banishing their fears.
The light ahead and the aromas of warmth and living things is impossible to miss, and she replies to Betty's uneasiness. "You are right to trust nothing here. But this IS our destination whether it can be trusted or not." She continues on toward the source of the light, maintaining her vigilance especially now.
Just up ahead there's a sound of music. As the light and warmth starts to surround them they see a figure. A tall man with long dark hair. He is… well. He's quite handsome really and he wears a diadem of twisted oak branches. And yet despite his obvious attractiveness there is a distant almost… imperial quality to him. He looks regal but harsh. Not the sort of king you approach warmly but one you approach warily.
This can only really be one person. Bres, called the Beautiful, king of the Tuatha de Dannan.
This is… slightly problematic given where things last stood between the Asgardians and the Tuatha.
Beside Bres is a tall dark haired woman, with a cloak that looks like feathers. There's an avian caste to her features.
"An Asgardian and a … human…. " How interesting, there's a lilt to the womans accent. "What business do you have in Tir-na-nog?"
Tir-na-nog. The Celtic Otherworld. It's probably no wonder Astryd and Fenris wouldn't be welcome.
"Have you come to finish the job your brothers started?"
The woman steps out of the way to let the pair through. It's beautiful here … deep green forest, brightly coloured flowers and creatures that flit in and out of the trees and shrubs.
Betty Brant stalls at first, noting the beauty presented to her of both figures. Swallowing, she finds herself staring. In that moment her cheeks flush with scarlet. Remembering why she was here, who she was here for, she looks to her weapon in hand and then slips it away, buckler following. Hands open, palms up, she takes a few steps forward, closing distance without piercing into the pair's personal bubble. "My name is Elizabeth Brant. I'm Priestess and voice of Fenris. I'm here on a matter of importance, but most notibly one of peace. I'm here to reclaim something belonging to the Valkyrie Astryd. If I may."
A pause, she motions to Sif. "This is Lady Sif. She's with me to make sure I can return home in hopefully one piece."
Seeing the oak-crowned man and the feather-cloaked woman and knowing right away who they are, she sheathes her sword — a huge gesture of trust — and offers them a warrior's bow, waiting for acknowledgement from the pair before straightening again.
She leaves the explanations to Betty. She's only here to see Betty to this task and back safely, and it would likely NOT help matters if she tried to ask anything of these two considering the history between Aesir and the Tuatha. Also, Ms. Brant has proven to be far better with words than Sif could ever be. She's a warrior, not a negotiator.
Bres offers a somewhat less deep bow but then, he is king here. He glances to the woman CLEARLY not pleased with the presence of the other two. "I am Bres. This is the Morrigan." The tone matches his look. Distant. Not haughty but not especially warm or pleasant. Someone burdened with the weight of royalty and perhaps not of the sunniest disposition to begin with.
"It sounds, Morrgian, like they're here for you. I know that I certainly do not have anything belonging to a Valkyrie." There's a short pause. "Why do I suspect they will have to go through the Perils for this?"
"Fenris has taken another Priestess?" The Morrigan gives Betty a critical look "And did the Raven tell you what it was you to retrieve?" Astryd most certainly had. Sort of. She'd told Betty to ask for the warrior Eoghan - he would have what she needed.
"They may well be here for me, your Majesty. I suspect I know what that is. Sedna is not going to like this at all." The sharp smile she gives probably doesn't bode well. Sif, of course, will recognise the name Sedna. "You suspect that, my Lord, because you are wise. And anything worthwhile needs a challenge."
Imperiously, the woman turns, offers her arm to the King of the Tuatha De Dannan and gestures for them to follow. She leads them down a path, that follows a babbling brook. Fish with rainbow scales swim within it.
Another? Blinking gently, she kills her mind for a moment and tightens her jaw. At length, she nods softly. "I'm to ask for the warrior Eoghan." She did not know the name Sedna. Betty glances to Sif before moving forward, stepping into that brilliant world. She allows her senses to drink it in as much as possible. She's seen few already, but every new realm and world holds some wonder to her yet. The woman hopes in silence that such joy will never fade.
Straightening again, Sif looks from Bres to the Morrigan then to Betty, her usually stoic expression showing a brief glimpse of concern at the name Sedna. Whatever that name means to her, she doesn't reveal immediately, instead waiting for Betty to follow the pair and taking up the end of the little procession. She might have sheathed her sword, but she's still taking Betty's safety in this strange place VERY seriously.
This token of Astryd's had damned well better be worth all this effort.
"Well let us get on with it. Your first peril will be the Peril of Wit. Morrigan and I will accompany you for only she can keep you whole and hale within the realm to which we must go and only I can open the ways too and from that will let us all come and go." Speaking of which, Bres turns and opens a portal, very different from others the two will have seen, and nods to Morrigan to lead the way.
"Do not stray from near her. And be prepared to give your answers."
Isn't he mister cryptic.
"Thank you, my Lord." Morrigan answers, waiting for the two women to step through ahead of her. The smirk on her face should be rather unsettling. "You know of the Ravens interactions with Sedna, Lady Sif?"
She's polite at least.
As she and Bres follow the women through the portal, it closes behind them, leaving the four of them is a dark, dank place. Just ahead of them is a bridge that crosses a chasm - the bottom of which can't be seen and flickering torches line the walls.
There appears to be an island floating at the other end of the bridge - people who glow translucent blue seem to be resting or moving there … and all of them seem to be dressed as Celtic Warriors.
At the start of the bridge, on their side, a glowing warrior stands guard. Half across stands another one. "Who you seek is across the bridge. You will have to pass the challenges these warriors pose you … Fail … " She lifts an elegant shoulder making the feathers ruffle. "… well, let's hope you never find out."
"Hail Conor, Raven guard. These women wish to pass into my domain. State your challenge."
The guard turns burning eyes to Sif and Betty, not showing any recognition as he does. "Two of you. Each must answer truly …. For you, little blonde:
I have forests, but no trees.
I have lakes, but no water.
I have roads, but no cars.
What Am I?
And for you, Asgardian:
I am a white box having no key or any lid.
Yet there is a golden treasure inside it.
What Am I ?"
He's got a nice voice, at least?
Betty Brant wrinkles up her nose at the term used for her. Little blonde - that did not bring back pleasant memories. Her expression softens quickly enough as she listens to the riddle posed to her. She also perks at Sif's test as well. Almost beaming, she calms herself and remembers she's here, they're here, in a professional manner.
Swallowing, she nods and speaks. "A map. You're a map, Guardsman Conor." Then she looks to Sif, smiling and waiting expectantly for the Asgardian to answer her own query.
Sif stops when the guard addresses her, then stares at him in complete bewilderment until after Betty has answered and then a few more seconds besides. A white box? With no key or lid? And a golden treasure inside? By the Norns, what nonsense is…
"An egg?"
Bres's grunts of approval are sign that both answers are correct even before the shade answers and confirms that fact. "Well. Your wits are certainly not in question." The King of the Tuatha says. Once the shade lets them past and Morrigan gets them moving again he falls in line.
"The next peril is the Peril of Skill. My people, even in death, value excellence above most other things. No doubt a suitable test will be presented to both of you to allow you to prove that you are indeed peerless. Only the worthy are allowed great gifts, for only the worthy can pay the price needed to wield them."
This is a story that everyone present knows in their own way. Sif may think of Odin sacrificing his eye for knowledge. Betty? It's a good question what she might think.
Either way it doesn't seem as though there's going to be a whole lot of foot dragging in between these challenges. Just a bit of walking.
The Morrigan doesn't say anything but the feathers on her cloak rustle as she nods. Conor steps out of the way and gestures with his spear for the group to pass. He bows to Bres and The Morrigan as they the Asgardian and priestess onwards.
"Hail Eber, Raven Guard." The raven queen says as they approach the second guard half across the bridge. The guard bows to Bres and The Morrigan before looking at the two visitors.
"If you wish to pass further into Tir-Na-Nog, you must best me in a challenge. Fenris' Priestess - for you to prove that you are worthy of that which you seek, you must prove that you carry your Gods favour, for anyone can say they are a Priestess, but only a few have the true heart for such."
Uh oh.
Behind him, two large wolves appear - easily as tall as Betty's shoulder. "You are to get past these two, without harming them … and without dying."
The wolves growl and crouch slightly, looking ready to attack.
Can Betty call on Fenris' favour to get past these two? She's about to find out.
Eber smiles at the Asgardian "Lady Sif, you're skill with a sword is well known, even here. You are to protect the Priestess from me, if you are both to pass." In his hand a sword appears and it's on like donkey kong as he rushes the swordswoman.
Betty Brant greets the next guard with a respectful nod of her head. As he speaks, she listens, and once she sees the wolves in waiting, she offers them a smile as well. Inhaling, exhaling, her lips softly move, speaking gently some old tongue (one all of them would know at least by sound.) There's a shiver and a shimmer dancing about her body. Thin slivers of something coiling around the base of her legs and up toward her knees. It doesn't continue to stretch, but the pattern is enough to suggest it was serpent like, spectral and see through. Hands open and down, palms out, she slowly starts toward the wolves before taking a knee.
Amars out, her scent provided to them, she keeps that kind expression and even softer, soothing voice. "Hello, dear ones. I'm not meant to hurt you and I don't wish to. I know what it's like to be you, in that form. All the things you're experiencing and that feeling, that need, crawling up your spine. It's ok. I'm not here to harm you nor is my companion."
Sif offers Guard Eber a warrior's bow in greeting, her sword still sheathed from earlier. She tenses a bit when the wolves appear as Betty's challenge, her hand almost instinctively going to the hilt of her sword. And then Eber says she has to protect Betty from HIM. Drasl.
The guard's initial rush toward her is met head-on by her raised buckler, and she uses the sudden momentum to pivot and place herself between the guard and the now-kneeling blonde. In a split second decision she opts to NOT draw her sword, but instead uses it scabbard and all to swipe back at the guard. She quickly follows that possibly odd attack with a kick at the man's torso, again aiming purely to push him back and away from Betty.
"They ARE rather good at fighting, aren't they." Bres says to Morrigan. The implication is of course that they aren't much good at anything else, which isn't true but the Tuatha have had recent conflict with the Aesir so they might be a little salty. Or they might have had to recently deal with one of the Royals ideas of diplomacy which… might also leave them a little salty.
Either way he takes keen interest on both Sif's swordplay and Betty's attempt to get past the wolves.
"Hrm. Well, that's interesting. Could it be that she is blessed after all?"
He ALMOST sounds impressed. Almost.
"She has something, I'll give her that…" The Morrigan murmurs. "And yes, the Asgardians do like to fight … " Maybe they aren't good for anything else. The Morrigan doesn't sound impressed at all.
The Wolves snap and snarl and start to lunge for Betty, she can feel and smell the breath on her face. They really need to learn to brush.
As her spell takes effect and she kneels despite their ferociousness, the wolves continue to growl but step back. Heads crane forward, noses twitching, the growling slowly subsides but doesn't stop. They don't lay down or sit but they don't attack … Instead they snuffle at the blondes hair and ears. It's probably daunting.
Eber smiles and uses the flat of his blade against Sif, grunts and then laughs as she kicks in. He doesn't stop though, when the wolves sniff at Betty, but comes at Sif again and again.
"Very good." The Morrigan says "Come Torak and Totem." The Wolves give Betty one last sniff and trot to the feather cloaked woman - or rather to Bres and sit beside him. "Continue to the end of the bridge and meet your warrior." She looks to Bres to accompany them.
Eber raises his sword and steps back from Sif, even though it's possible she might hit him.
They can see the shimmering shade of warrior emerge from the trees. He's tall, hair that was once dark falls to his shoulders and he's wearing a wolf skin across his torso. The Morrigan sighs and asides to Bres as they start moving again "It's no wonder Sedna wanted to keep him …"
Betty Brant lowers her hands and simply waits. Feeling the snuffling, she even giggles, but does nothing more. The coiling about her legs begins to pull away even as light licks of ocean-green still stains around her ankles and feet. It's there, the snake, ready as ever, but not coiling forward. When they're called away, she moves to stand in a fluid motion. "Torak, Totem." She now greets the wolves properly and by name.
Stepping away from the battle and closer to Bres, Betty lingers and turns her eyes toward Sif.
Sif consistently keeps Eber as far away from Betty as possible, and does it without once pulling her sword from its scabbard. When the guard suddenly raises his own sword and steps back, she nearly swings her buckler at him, but stops herself the instant she realizes he's ending the erstwhile sparring.
Stepping back as well, she offers Guard Eber another bow, then turns to check on Betty. Had she actually trusted the blonde Midgardian to be able to handle the wolves on her own?
"Well done, warrior." It at least for once doesn't sound haughty when Bres says that to Sif. As the final goal of this little trip comes into view, the Spear Attended King snorts to Morrigan.
"You sound glad that you have him here." Morrigan is well known to… well. She was involved with a number of notable Irish heroes, lets put it that way.
"Is this something we will need to pay attention to later, Morrigan?" By which the King means, as Betty and Sif address the shade, will this come back to bite them later.
"Well go one. Speak to him." The Morrigan says a little impatiently to Sif and Betty.
Eoghan steps to the end of the bridge and when the women draw near, bows. "You wished to see me, Priestess, Warrior?" On his wrist is a cuff, beaten silver embossed with Ravens surrounding a wolf.
The Morrigan smirks at Bres. "Glad? I suppose. He had his choice of where he wished to be. The Valkyrie helped him find his way here. And it cost her …"
The Queen of Ravens watches the trio as the talk considering the Kings question and nods "I rather think we will. Fate swirls around the Raven almost as strongly as it does about the God Wolf. I can't see … anything. And that is of concern."
Betty Brant waits for Sif to be close to her again before moving on. Giving a somewhat apologetic look toward the feathered diety, she moves forward with a touch more haste in her step. The serpent around her legs is fully gone now. "Yes," she begins after offering her hand in greeting to Eoghan.
"I'm Betty, this is Lady Sif. I'm here to collect something from you that once belonged to Astryd." Pity she knew little else about it, honestly. "It's dire to us in these times. A…hopeful cut against pending woven thread, as it were."
Sif steps over next to Betty and keeps pace with her as they finally meet up with Eoghan. She offers the man a respectful bow, then lets the blonde do the talking and explaining.
… wait. Why does she have the feeling that there should have been more Perils than this? She tries to not let that sensation of uneasiness show, keeping her arms at her sides and her hands relaxed.
She has a crap poker face, though.
Bres sighs. "Then I must go make arrangements." He bows slightly to the Morrigan and slightly to Betty and Sif. Then he turns to depart, striding away and vanishing quite quickly. King needs to do some kinging now that fate and likely geasa are involved. And OH to Bres hate those.
In any case, that leaves the three women to sort out what is left of this errand, but all will be well, the Beautiful One is sure.
Maybe the perils that Sif thinks there should be are yet to come.
Eoghan takes Betty hand and bows over it. Old world charm and all that. "Priestess. Astryd gave this to me when she bought me here …" he says, releasing her hand and removing the cuff. He hands it to Betty.
While it's in his fingers, the cuff glows a spirit-blue. The moment Betty takes it, it turns to silver. Beaten with that raven and wolf motif.
"I hope she finds the solace that she gave me …" The warrior looks at Sif, frowning slightly, before reaching to his belt and removing a short dagger. "This was given to me when Astryd bought me here. I was told I would know what to do with it, when the time was right. Take it …" Again, the dagger glows a spirit-blue until Sif takes it. It's a Sgian Dubh, though Sif might not know that, finely wrought with a amethyst in the hilt. "I think you will need this."
With that the Warrior bows before turning and walking away.
"Well then. As much as you've been polite guests, I think it is time for you to go." The Morrigan says. Bres has already gone.
Holding to his forearm firmly, she smiles gently at their meeting. At the show of the cuff, she takes it and looks toward the figure's face. "Thank you." When time comes for Sif to have a parting gift, Betty waits for the warrior to claim it. "Rest well, Eoghan." She calls after his back before looking to Morrigan and nodding.
"I agree. Thank you. Sif, are you ready to go?"
Not really understanding why, Sif accepts the short dagger. "Thank you, Warrior. I will care for this blade as I expect will care for me." She turns to look at the Morrigan before nodding to Betty and, again without really understanding why, tucks the dagger into top of her right boot where she can easily reach if needed. "I am ready."
The Morrigan nods and a blue glow surrounds her. Behind Sif and Betty a portal opens … leading to … what looks like the corner of an alley.
"Please take no offense when I say I hope we don't see you again." She gestures them through.
When they look back, the portal is fading and the raven feather cloaked back of the Morrigan is walking towards Eoghan who is holding his hand out to her.