The Fairy Diary Day 200 #TFDbyRWOz2

Meribabell writes:

Rumble and I passed a miserable night waiting and hoping to see our friends again. Several times I nearly gave in to Rumble’s plea and summoned Merlin. But oddly I felt restrained from doing so by a sense that I cannot put into words. 

I did, however, compose a message to the High Fairy. And at the moment I finished it Dunfallon returned. 

He was disconsolate. He dismissed his eagle without a word of praise for its efforts. Something not at all like our pixie. 

When we pressed him for details as to what happened, he only said that he also lost sight of Noralei soon after he started his pursuit. He followed the stream as it became a river, all the way to a large body of water into which it flowed. And he exhausted himself chasing thousands of flashes of silver churning the waters there. All to no avail. 

Then at the urging of my pendant I announced that we were going to press on to that body of water. 

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The Fairy Diary Day 199 #TFDbyRWOz2

Meribabell writes:

We continued along the stream, even as it began to ess back and forth wending between hillocks on both sides.  Thankfully its overall direction comes back to our desired heading. 

Rumble encourages the growth of the plants as we go along. It is quite refreshing to walk among these burgeoning trees and the coolness they supply. 

Noralei paused frequently beside the water to gaze into its depths. I did as well and caught sight of something moving beneath its surface. 

Before I could stop her, Noralei rushed in to take hold of a silver flash. Whatever it was, streaked away with Noralei hugging it with all her might. 

Dunfallon and Rumble joined me in pursuit of our friend. Rumble and I took to flight. And the pixie summoned his eagle. 

But whatever we were pursuing was faster than our wings could fly, so we let Dunfallon take over. 

We could only look on helplessly as our friends disappeared from our view.

The Fairy Diary Day 157 #TFDbyRWOz2

Meribabell writes:

Geog and Grimace were anxious to be moving along and were a little resentful at our slow pace. But once they had observed how the fields responded to the ministrations of Rumble and myself, they entered into the spirit of what we were trying to do. 

They came across a stream that had been dammed up and exerted every effort to clear out the rocks and tree trunks causing the blockage. 

They soon had the water singing merrily on its way. 

When we followed along after it, Dunfallon called my attention to a black bird sitting in a naked tree watching us. When it suddenly flapped away, the pixie wanted to summon his eagle and pursue it. 

Fearing a trap I held him back, promising that there will come a time for such action.

The Fairy Diary Day 140 #TFDbyRWOz2

Meribabell writes:

It was Caywyn’s turn to impress us today. As promised beforehand he had to leave us on our own while he went to take care of something. 

We continued on by following his instructions, keeping to the path by the stream. Thankfully there were no signs of trolls, nor of anything else to menace us.

Actually there was not much else for us to see down there, just the same path and the same stream. However the canyon changed as we went along. Its walls seemed to stretch taller and taller. 

This troubled Rumble. He consulted his map and there discovered that this path dead ended somewhere up ahead. 

And so it proved after we rounded the last corner and saw that we were in a box canyon with a blank cliff wall before us. 

It was then that Dunfallon remarked that Caywyn’s notes on his map showed the path continuing. We were wondering what this all meant when Noralei interrupted by pointing out the figure of a human high above us on the cliff face. 

Caywyn waved down to us, then threw his whole weight into switching a huge lever. And slowly the cliff before us opened. 

We settled in to wait for Caywyn to make his way back to us.

The Fairy Diary Day 107 #TFDbyRWOz2

Meribabell writes:

Dunfallon called a halt to our advance early in the morning. He had checked Willie’s cage and discovered him laid out on its floor. 

To my mind he looked like a fish out of water. All wrinkled up and gasping. Rumble took it upon himself to fetch some water by flying all the way back to the stream we had crossed yesterday. 

In the meantime I discussed the problem with Noralei. She talked about making alterations to the cage – if only she had a forge and the right materials. I wasn’t convinced that we were missing anything in that regard. I was sure something else was going on. 

That’s when I thought to bring out the scroll. I hadn’t since leaving Nonin-gal-dith. And there was a message from the High Fairy with a prescription for the care of Will’o’the Wisps.  We dispatched Dunfallon to look for some swamp grass. The pixie was more than happy to summon his eagle for the task. 

Before the end of the day we had Willie looking more alive, if not chipper.

Day One Thousand Sixty Five #DiaryoftheEndoftheWorld

It was not the carnage of battle that we surveyed on the summit of that mountain, but rather the aftermath of a wanton sacrifice. An altar had been raised over the source of the stream and an untold number of bodies lay strewn about – the bodies of animals contorted in their death agonies. All under the sparkling gaze of an idol of Stan, which presided over the scene.

Mawuli toppled it with a well aimed stone from his sling, and we crushed it under foot.

Elijah had us return to our camp near the stone bridge for the night, and from there this morning we set out towards the east, following Mawuli’s lead.

Elijah held his staff aloft in praise.

Day Nine Hundred Seventy Seven #DiaryoftheEndoftheWorld

We decided that we had to keep to our original plan to meet up with Tomas tomorrow. Between what we have heard and what he may have learned we should have a better basis for our next step.

We did not have any encounters today, except at a distance. A very large flock of sheep was grazing beside a stream under the gaze of several shepherds. We would have passed through their midst but a flash of light followed by a fireball and the sound of an explosion over the horizon in the direction of the road, sent the flock into a panic.

Then, while two boys saw to the sheep, the rest of the shepherds rushed towards the road.

Day Eight Hundred Forty Eight #DiaryoftheEndoftheWorld

We have been soaking in the respite of the past two days. As well as taking in the fresh water from the snow melt which pools on the rock shelf at the base of our mountain. Full to its brim at our arrival, it has noticeably diminished since then.

Its level does not concern us in the least. Elijah begins his day on an outcropping above the rock shelf where the stream pools before cascading down to the lower level.

I take over his position by midday and there remain for the balance of the day.

I am having visions but they are disturbing. Not at all what I expected. I won’t discuss them with Elijah until the proper time.

Day Four Hundred Eighty Seven #DiaryoftheEndoftheWorld

Another hot, dusty day has left me longing for the rains of yesterday. Meager clouds scudded along overhead with not a hint of cooling relief.

But we discovered a stream which flows over a rocky bed and stopped to refresh ourselves. It felt wonderful to wash the dust off of our feet. We took to the road again with a renewed spring to our step.

Conversation circled around the continuing lack of people. We passed through a couple of intact villages. All signs point to a hurried abandonment by the inhabitants.

They appeared to have fled in the same direction we are heading.

Elijah thinks that we may overtake some of them before much longer.
We both hope so.

Day Four Hundred Twenty #DiaryoftheEndoftheWorld

The stream beside us is widening into a river. Soon that fact will precipitate a decision.

We covered a good deal of ground today. And the people are  adapting to a new rhythm for their lives. There is no sign of pursuit nor that of surveillance. Spirits remain high.

I joined Elijah in the lead, so I have to adopt a new mindset. No longer am l preoccupied with where we’ve been, but now my focus is on where we’re going.

There is no road or path, only the meandering river. But that soon will be of little concern.

In the evening council meeting, Elijah revealed that we will soon part ways with the larger group to catch the ship.