Once Gyneth felt well enough to travel, she and Lyonesse departed from Yellowport, taking the main highway to Trefoille. Passing many merchants and military patrols, they spent little time on the road distracted or in conflict. The blind mage was thankful for the uneventful days, as she quietly prepared for the overwhelming, windswept, wave-sprayed cliffs the Shadar Tor towered over. She wasn’t sure she could do it, but deciphering the Tor would be their greatest asset in recovering the golden net.
They stayed with her mentor, Oliphard the Wizardly, after arriving in Trefoille. Gyneth marveled at how quickly the city's repairs, restructuring, and rebuilding were progressing. A hearty workforce of skilled craftsmen and able-bodied laborers was a marvel to learn from during the handful of days the two women spent helping, as Lyonesse’s mentor required, in exchange for rooms and meals at his manor. Immersing herself among the clatter and banging of the blacksmiths and stonemasons helped Lyonesse train herself to tune out the disruptive noises and hone her focus.
Days passed as they took to the road again, and Lyonesse could sense the turbulence in the air and sea as they neared the Shadar Tor. Seagulls screamed high above them, adding to the wind and water’s efforts to overstimulate the blind mage. She asked that Gyneth take her veil and give her time to trace her sensitive fingers along the course stone carved with ancient runes. The warrior woman doubted how helpful the archaic stone would be, but she understood this was one of those moments when she had to put faith in someone else’s skills. Battling the pillar would offer no solutions, anyway.
MAGIC DIFFICULTY – 11
Lyonesse’s Magic Score: 6 + 6 + 1 = 13 – PASSED!
Lyonesse steadied her breathing and meditated on the air currents above and turbulent water below. When she felt completely at peace with the elements around her, she pressed one hand to the stone and traced the text ingrained on her grimoire's pages. She concentrated for hours on the differences and similarities she felt between the stone carvings, and soon realized what the Tor contained was a spell! “Gyneth!” Lyonesse called out to her companion, excited. The platinum-blond woman had begun to doze off on the boulder she sat on, and the mage's call pulled her back into the waking world.
Looking around as she stood and stretched, she saw nothing to panic over. “What is it?” Gyneth called back as she made her way over to the Tor to see how her blind companion was doing. She found Lyonesse sitting on the ground, using a glass pen to scratch and carve into the paper pulp. “The high priest was right!” Lyonesse gasped, then raised her head, giving Gyneth the impression that the blind woman could lock eyes with her. “The Tor was the key! There’s a spell carved into it! A spell to help someone breathe underwater!” Dark, stormy grey eyes widened with astonishment over the revelation. “Seriously?” Gyneth asked, disbelief coloring her voice at their luck! Well, not quite luck, but still! It sure felt like it! The mage nodded before continuing, “I’m going to cast it on you. So that you can go and fetch the golden net.”
“Whoa, what?! How?” The trained, former soldier started to object to the plan. “I don’t know how to fight underwater. I barely know how to swim!” Which wasn't a proud thing for anyone to admit, though; when one thought about it, one didn’t necessarily need to know how to swim if drowning wasn’t as big a risk thanks to the spell. But still! “I can’t go. Water numbs my senses and my ability to navigate,” Lyonesse insisted respectfully. “I’d be of no use down there. You’ll be able to breathe and see. You’ll be able to find the sunken city.” The mage sure knew how to make a point; Gyneth would give her that.
The taller woman sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “I hear you. I understand what you’re saying,” Gyneth began to object again before the mage reached up and gripped her hand. It was a firm yet tender grip, a gesture of comfort and certainty. Dark eyes gazed down at the sitting woman once more. “The gods are testing you. Just like Yanryt the Son. This will bring you closer to defeating the Black Dragon Knight,” Lyonesse said earnestly with an encouraging smile. Gyneth smirked back, unable to oppose any further. “Very well. Let’s head down to the beach first, and see if there’s a good place for you to take shelter and rest. Trystan expects me to keep you safe, and I can’t do that while we’re not together,” she insisted, taking Lyonesse’s hand to help her to her feet. The mage smiled brilliantly, agreeing wholeheartedly with an affirmative nod.
The pair of women explored the beach and cliffs for some time before finding a ledge to set up camp on. It was late in the day, and Gyneth insisted she didn’t want to swim so late into the night if she could help it. She had gone skinny-dipping in the lake where she grew up and knew full well that the water could be just as dark, if not darker, than the night sky. At dawn, they shared a light breakfast before heading down to the shore. There, as they felt the cold waves lap against their ankles and shins, Lyonesse cast the spell found on the ancient pillar upon Gyneth. As the spell took effect, gills formed on her tingling cheeks. They were sensitive and tickled at the warrior’s touch, and after swimming away from shore to test how well she could breathe, she called out to Lyonesse to assure the mage that all was well. The blind mage waved back before returning to their camp on the ledge as Gyneth dove beneath the sea’s surface.
Lyonesse steadied her breathing and meditated on the air currents above and turbulent water below. When she felt completely at peace with the elements around her, she pressed one hand to the stone and traced the text ingrained on her grimoire's pages. She concentrated for hours on the differences and similarities she felt between the stone carvings, and soon realized what the Tor contained was a spell! “Gyneth!” Lyonesse called out to her companion, excited. The platinum-blond woman had begun to doze off on the boulder she sat on, and the mage's call pulled her back into the waking world.
Looking around as she stood and stretched, she saw nothing to panic over. “What is it?” Gyneth called back as she made her way over to the Tor to see how her blind companion was doing. She found Lyonesse sitting on the ground, using a glass pen to scratch and carve into the paper pulp. “The high priest was right!” Lyonesse gasped, then raised her head, giving Gyneth the impression that the blind woman could lock eyes with her. “The Tor was the key! There’s a spell carved into it! A spell to help someone breathe underwater!” Dark, stormy grey eyes widened with astonishment over the revelation. “Seriously?” Gyneth asked, disbelief coloring her voice at their luck! Well, not quite luck, but still! It sure felt like it! The mage nodded before continuing, “I’m going to cast it on you. So that you can go and fetch the golden net.”
“Whoa, what?! How?” The trained, former soldier started to object to the plan. “I don’t know how to fight underwater. I barely know how to swim!” Which wasn't a proud thing for anyone to admit, though; when one thought about it, one didn’t necessarily need to know how to swim if drowning wasn’t as big a risk thanks to the spell. But still! “I can’t go. Water numbs my senses and my ability to navigate,” Lyonesse insisted respectfully. “I’d be of no use down there. You’ll be able to breathe and see. You’ll be able to find the sunken city.” The mage sure knew how to make a point; Gyneth would give her that.
The taller woman sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “I hear you. I understand what you’re saying,” Gyneth began to object again before the mage reached up and gripped her hand. It was a firm yet tender grip, a gesture of comfort and certainty. Dark eyes gazed down at the sitting woman once more. “The gods are testing you. Just like Yanryt the Son. This will bring you closer to defeating the Black Dragon Knight,” Lyonesse said earnestly with an encouraging smile. Gyneth smirked back, unable to oppose any further. “Very well. Let’s head down to the beach first, and see if there’s a good place for you to take shelter and rest. Trystan expects me to keep you safe, and I can’t do that while we’re not together,” she insisted, taking Lyonesse’s hand to help her to her feet. The mage smiled brilliantly, agreeing wholeheartedly with an affirmative nod.
The pair of women explored the beach and cliffs for some time before finding a ledge to set up camp on. It was late in the day, and Gyneth insisted she didn’t want to swim so late into the night if she could help it. She had gone skinny-dipping in the lake where she grew up and knew full well that the water could be just as dark, if not darker, than the night sky. At dawn, they shared a light breakfast before heading down to the shore. There, as they felt the cold waves lap against their ankles and shins, Lyonesse cast the spell found on the ancient pillar upon Gyneth. As the spell took effect, gills formed on her tingling cheeks. They were sensitive and tickled at the warrior’s touch, and after swimming away from shore to test how well she could breathe, she called out to Lyonesse to assure the mage that all was well. The blind mage waved back before returning to their camp on the ledge as Gyneth dove beneath the sea’s surface.
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