FATE/CURADH BEAG
"Little Champion"
Chapter 8: Source of Life and Death
The following morning, Connla woke up to the smell of eggs being cooked on the small stove in the guest room. Numerous birds chirped outside, and the breeze flowed softly along the grass and fields. A rooster bellowed in the distance. She looked up and noticed that Conall was already awake and preparing breakfast for them.
"Mornin', missy," he greeted her. "Did you sleep well?"
"About as well as I could," she mumbled while wiping her eyes.
"Can't blame you. Yesterday must've been real hectic. Today's gonna be a breeze, though – we'll get moving to Galway as soon as we're ready. No dramatics to worry about when you're on the road."
"How's Mr. Declan? Is he doing okay?"
"Don't know. I haven't seen him yet," Conall said as he glanced out the window with a perplexed gaze. "That's odd. He's usually up and about tending to his cows. The man prides himself on being an early riser to care for his girls. I made him his breakfast earlier, but he hasn't stopped by to eat either."
"I hope he hasn't done anything irrational. Hearing about his wife's death must've been a real shock to him."
"Shit… Let's look for him. I'll check the barn and fields. You look around the house."
They split up and investigated the property. Conall inspected the barn and found the cows still inside their stables waiting to be milked. Meanwhile, Connla poked her head through each room she could find, carefully looking to see if Declan wasn't hiding. She went upstairs to the second floor, which only contained the master bedroom and a lavatory. The latter's door was open and there was no one inside. In contrast, the bedroom's door was closed, so she suspected that Declan was inside. She tried the doorknob, and it clicked open before she gently swayed the door open inward.
"Mr. Declan? Are you in h-" she began to ask, but then stopped mid-sentence.
Like a curtain unfolding in front of a window, the scene opened up before her eyes. She was so stunned that the entire world was enveloped in total silence for a good minute or two. She wanted to tear her eyes away from what she was seeing, but her body refused to move. Fortunately, Conall's rushing footsteps disrupted the fragile stillness as he shouted, "What's wrong!? Did you find him!?"
Connla couldn't say anything. All she could do was grab his arm and point into the room while shivering uncontrollably. His mind was filled with blasphemous curses as he looked inside the bedroom to see what was wrong. His jaw dropped as he finally saw what the problem was:
Declan had hung himself.
Two hours later, the same soldiers from yesterday had been notified and sent an emergency request for assistance from the neighboring villages. Other farmers noticed the pell-mell around Declan's property and ambled around the area, wondering what had happened. It didn't take long for word to spread among such a small and sequestered community.
Connla didn't want to get involved with any of it. She sat inside the barn by herself, hugging her knees to her chest and brooding in silence. She was already exhausted from crying over Conall's shoulder, then explaining what happened to the guardsmen afterward. She didn't want to turn this incident into mere chit-chat among the weary townsfolk. She would keep her testimony close to her heart, only allowing Conall and the soldiers to know what she saw in that bedroom. Declan's death expression was so twisted and horrific that she doubted she would ever forget it. She was used to people already being dead and roaming the Land of Shadows as spirits – witnessing these actual deaths for herself was almost too much for her to handle.
Connla was getting a bit impatient with how long Conall was taking, but she also didn't want to leave the comfort of the barn and wind up being ambushed with questions from the curious villagers. She just waited there for him to return with an update, and hopefully news that they could continue their journey to Galway. She didn't want to be in Belfast anymore, and he knew it. He promised to be as quick as he could, but didn't know how long it would take. Out of sheer boredom and exhaustion, she nuzzled her cheek against her knees and slumped into a half-asleep stupor.
About ten minutes later, Connla felt someone nudge her shoulder, startling her awake. Conall had returned, and he asked, "You okay?"
"Mm…"
"I got the go-ahead for us to leave Belfast. The boys will handle the rest from here."
"Good. I don't like this place."
"I know. I'm so sorry you had to see that," he apologized while rubbing her head. "I should've made you stay in the guest room while I checked the whole house myself."
She glanced away. She didn't blame him for any of this, but she didn't want this conversation to devolve into them constantly apologizing with each other. She simply responded with a light nod, then stood up and asked, "Can we avoid the villagers as much as possible? I don't want to talk with any of them."
"That won't be a problem. The guys have assembled everyone into the town square and are issuing an edict for Belfast to be abandoned once and for all. The nearest magistrate will also be coming to enforce the order. That means this is our chance to slip away while no one's looking."
With that, the pair left Declan's empty house behind and took a roundabout way to avoid being spotted by soldiers and townsfolk. They were well outside the town's borders within the next 30 minutes, allowing Connla to calm down a little now that she didn't have to worry about having to answer unwanted questions.
"You hanging in there?" Conall asked.
"Yeah."
"Gotta be honest with you; I never dreamed that ol' Declan would do something like that. I guess that goes to show how much he loved his wife, and would have missed her too much to keep on living. It was kind of his fault for treating her so badly, though. Word around the grapevine was that she complained about how anything she did was never good enough for him. That, plus their farm failing to produce enough income to pay for taxes must have driven both of them over the edge."
She felt uneasy about wanting to ask her next question, but she inevitably wondered, "Is that kind of thing… a normal occurrence?"
As much as Conall wanted her to clarify what she meant, he understood all too well that she wished to avoid using the 'S' word. He sighed deeply, then admitted, "You could say that."
"Why? Why is everyone experiencing such despair that they would throw their lives away like that?"
"Hmm…" he scratched his head. "Maybe instead of just explaining it, it'd be easier to show you."
"Show me what?"
"We're almost near Lough Neagh. Once you see it, it'll become obvious."
Curiosity dominated Connla's thoughts as she wondered what exactly he was hinting at. It didn't take long for them to reach Lough Neagh, the largest freshwater lake in all of Ireland. They had a full view of the lake from the eastern-most side in Antrim county, and the young girl was taken aback by the sight. It wasn't of the beautiful water glistening in the late morning sunlight one would expect though – it was the shocking lack of water in the first place. Ages ago, the lake was large enough to cover six counties' worth of territory. Now it had shrunken to the point that the only county that had enough viable water was Antrim. Even nearby Portmore Lough had been completely drained of its water several years ago, leaving nothing but a dry lakebed behind.
Connla squatted atop a half-buried boulder and gazed into the distance as far as she could see, while gasping, "Oh my goodness…"
"You see what the problem is now?" Conall asked. "When the Celtic Isles first floated off the ground, everyone instantly started hoarding all the water sources for themselves in a kind of panicked frenzy. Now that we were completely cut off from the ocean, we had no choice but to compete with each other for water. It got so bad that small civil battles erupted over the growing tensions between everyone you could think of. Think about it; do you save it for the soldiers protecting the citizens, or do the farmers deserve the lion's share? Should personal hygiene be sacrificed? Does the amount that wild animals consume have to be regulated? Do we need to cut down trees and other plants, or do we preserve as much of our ecology as possible?
"So much of our lives revolved around water that we barely noticed until it was too late. The first few years were an absolute disaster, let me tell you. No one knew what they were doing, and they allowed greed to overcome reason, resulting in lots of casualties over squabbles that would otherwise be meaningless."
"All of that, on top of the isles eroding around the shoreline?" Connla wondered.
"Yeah. I think Dublin's Fall was the point when everyone decided to stop fighting each other and devise a system of distributing and consuming water."
"You said that was eight years ago, right? So then, everyone was killing each other for seven years before that?"
"You got it. For that reason, many people divide our society into two 'eras'; pre-Dublin and post-Dublin. If Pre-Dublin was all about madness, chaos and greed, then post-Dublin is about resignation and despair. A lot of people have given up hope for the Celtic Isles' future and are seeking to escape from it, if you catch my drift. I've even heard rumors that the nobility is ridiculing these losses, saying that culling the masses makes it easier to distribute water to fewer people. Not that they're making it any easier, considering how much they charge for it. The only hope anyone has for survival is to pray for heavy rainfall."
She lowered her head in silence, as if grieving for the many lives lost during such horrific times. Conall frowned, realizing he had given her more reasons to brood. Not wanting to depress her any further, he said, "Well, enough of our history lesson. Better not to dwell on it for too long, or you'll just make yourself upset. Come on, we've still got a long way ahead of us."
She hopped off the boulder and followed him around the southern shore of Lough Neagh before they carried on southwest.
Back in Scotland, Fir and Fial ventured back northeast along Loch Awe, having reached the northernmost area of the river around the same time Conall and Connla were leaving Belfast. They wanted to rest in the Inistrynich peninsula before moving on for a long journey eastward to Dundee. Despite the town normally being on the River Tay and thus potentially subject to the Celtic Isles' erosion, the landmass surrounding the river had merged together to allow for a lake to be formed instead, now being called Loch Tay. This made Dundee a popular place for people to gather due to its abundance of water, and was one of the twins' favorite stops during their aimless wandering.
As Fial sat down on a fallen log to rest her feet, she gazed at the sky and suddenly wondered, "I hope Connwa's doing okay."
"Are you worried about her?" her brother asked her.
"Yeah. Auntie said that Iwewand is becoming more and more of a bad pwace to wive in these days."
"I'm sure she'll be okay. It's not as bad as it was before Dublin's Fall."
"But the people awe still so scawy. Especiawwy the wich people who tweat evewyone awound them wike their pewsonal pwopewty. Why do people wike wiving in cities when they know they'll get tweated so badwy? It's so much easier to wive in the fowest, wike the dwuids do."
"Remember what Auntie told us before? Humans are creatures of convenience. They don't like having to do hard work. If there is a method for them to relieve the burden, they'll always use it. They're not like us – being able to live in the wild without having to worry about things like sheltering from bad weather or wild animal attacks."
"Not wike us… as in being-?"
Before Fial could finish her question, both children instantly froze in place and shivered in terror. It was as if time itself stopped, with not a single lifeform in the immediate area wanting to so much dare as breathe. An intense pressure forced everything to hold still so as not to incur the wrath of whatever this presence was. The children had never experienced such a dreadful and ominous emotion before, and it frightened them so badly that they kneeled on the ground and hugged each other tightly.
"F-F-F-Fir…" the girl whimpered.
"S-S-Stay quiet…" the boy whispered between his chattering teeth, doing his best to maintain a brave face for his sister.
About a minute passed before the intense sensation eventually lessened, allowing the world to return to normal. Fir held Fial close and looked around before murmuring, "I think it's gone."
"Uuuuh… What was that?"
"I don't know. I've never felt anything so… evil."
"Did we do something bad?"
"I don't think so. Maybe it was just passing by."
"We gotta tell Auntie the next time we see her."
As Fial said this, they heard a raven cawing nearby, followed by them spotting a black bird circling around them a few times before landing on the fallen tree that Fial was sitting on before. A firm and sultry woman's voice echoed from the bird, "Did someone call me for?"
"Auntie!" the twins cried out and swarmed in front of her, finally releasing all of their pent-up fear by bawling uncontrollably before her.
"There, there, my children," the bird cooed, rubbing her wings against their heads to calm them down. "Did the big scary beast frighten you? It's okay now. He's no longer here."
"What was that!? Not even the biggest and meanest Demon Boars were that terrifying!" Fir exclaimed.
"Nothing for you to worry about. He's simply on his way to Ireland."
"Iwewand?" Fial murmured, then glanced at her brother with fear in her eyes. "Fir… Do you weawize what this means?"
"Yeah. It's where Connla was heading."
"Is she weally gonna be okay?"
"I… don't know…"
The bird leaned in and asked, "Connla? Who might that be?"
"She's our friend," Fir said, then explained everything that happened in the last few days.
"I see… I see…" the animal murmured. However, she actually wasn't surprised to hear the twins' tale of their mystery friend who had run away from the Land of Shadows. In fact, she already knew everything that was going on, and repressed a light chuckle.
This is getting interesting real fast. Wouldn't you say so, my dear Taoide Olc?
Further down south of Loch Awe, a grand figure clad in dark tattered clothing rushed along the wild trails like an oncoming thunderstorm. Any animals that sensed his presence instantly fled the area, as if they were serfs making way for their king's ostentatious procession, and would be threatened with execution if they interfered.
The 'man', if one could call him that anymore, landed upon a high cliff looking over Scotland's southwestern territories, with Sgaradh not too far off in the horizon. Ever since he claimed Scathach's authority over the Land of Shadows, his original appearance was further warped into something far too demonic for him to be referred to as a human being anymore. While his head and torso remained humanoid, his arms and legs had warped into black scaly limbs reminiscent of a dragon standing on its hind feet. He donned a blood-red crown over his hood, and additional silver pauldrons on his shoulders in reference to his original self as the Hound of Ulster.
He was no longer the Cuchulainn that anyone in Ireland would recognize anymore. He was now Taoide Olc, the King of the Abyssal Depths who carved a path of utter destruction and chaos wherever he went.
He hunched down on all fours while wielding Gae Bolg as he stared out into the distance. He knew what his destination was… but not so much his goal. He definitely had two objectives in mind. The trouble was that he didn't know which one to prioritize. He pressed his free hand against his opposite arm, which was still wrapped in a layer of bloodied bandages. The only semblance of humanity left in his soul were the wrappings that Connla had covered his previous wounds with. As much as he had transformed into a creature of unfathomable terror and chaos, he couldn't bring himself to take them off. To him, they represented the first act of kindness he had ever received in far too many years.
That was why he had so much difficulty deciding what to do from here. His ultimate goal in this world was to destroy Medb. That much was certain. However, meeting Connla seemed to change something in him. He had deduced that Scathach had trained her to eliminate the Tree of Emptiness, though he figured it was a waste of time. How could such a small child hope to singlehandedly handle an alien entity that had drowned the rest of the world? Alas, the girl seemed determined to go through with it, and he couldn't allow it.
But then, why wouldn't he allow it in the first place? He was certain she would fail, meaning she wasn't really a threat to his plans. As far as he should care, she was insignificant. Yet, he couldn't get her out of his mind. Scathach was Connla's mentor, after all. Maybe she had taught her something that he wasn't aware of. He didn't want to risk allowing his arrogance to get the better of him when he had come so far to be Medb's worst enemy. What would he do with Connla should he find her then? Kill her? Weaken her? Or take her back to the Land of Shadows and imprison her in the castle?
Cuchulainn was certain of one thing – he didn't want to kill Connla. He had learned so much about her from their short chat that he didn't want to slay her just because she was an inconvenience to him. Her life had already been unfair enough to this point, and he didn't want to snuff out any chance she had of finding a better future for herself.
For all of his monstrous and inhuman appearance inspiring fear in others, maybe… he was scared…
He was scared of Connla meeting Medb.
That had to be it.
He was terrified of such an innocent girl encountering the worst queen in all of human history. Connla certainly was cute, and he was aware of how much Medb loved people she found to be adorable. Medb might find Connla so charming that she would engage in severe 'cute abuse'. Maybe she would expose her to the same nightmare he had endured so long ago. The child had already been so horrifically beaten by her own mother enough as it was, distorting her perspective of the world around her. Cuchulainn would never forgive himself if he allowed her to be subjected to such despicable acts all over again.
He narrowed his eyes and grit his teeth. He had made up his mind.
Without a word, he leapt high off the cliff and plummeted into the forest far below.
For the next three days, Conall and Connla continued on their journey southwest to Galway. The first day saw them pass by Armagh before camping out in the wilderness. On the second day, they reached the outskirts of Roscommon. The final day was when they would reach the hills of Castlegar, a small farming hamlet just outside Galway's borders where Conall's parents lived.
While they were taking break during the afternoon of the first day, Conall said to Connla, "Well, now that we've put Belfast's excitement behind us, I think now's as good a chance as any for me to ask what your business is in Ireland."
"My business?" she wondered.
"Yeah. I can't get over how you want to meet someone as important as Fergus mac Roich when you don't even know your way around the country. Did something happen in Scotland that forced you to leave?"
"Well… it's kind of a long story."
"We've got tons of time. Might as well lay it on me while we're adventuring buddies, right?"
"I guess so. I'm just not sure how much you'll believe me, though."
"Try me. After having such a rowdy foster brother like mine, it's difficult to surprise me anymore."
With that, Connla proceeded to tell Conall of her upbringing in Dun Scaith, and of the strange man she met who made even her normally stoic teacher panic. She had trouble explaining why she was forced to leave her home so suddenly, but she was sure it had something to do with the mystery fellow. Everything she said piqued his interest, but one thing stood out in his mind.
"I see. So you're Scathach's pupil?" he murmured.
"Yes," she nodded. "I'm sure you don't believe me, seeing as how I still look like a child even though I lived there for 15 years."
"Hmm… I do find it hard to believe that a kid like you would be that demon-woman's student. Yet, it also kind of explains why you're so smart despite your age. I've heard rumors of how time is all warped and funky in that place. Is that true?"
"It is. Time does not advance in Dun Scaith whatsoever. It's a world of perpetual stagnation where the dead roam aimlessly, while those who are alive can exist for so long that they cease to be human if they're not careful with maintaining their sanity. It's an extremely harsh place, meaning you always have to live for combat every moment of your life. I entered the Land of Shadows when I was seven, and stayed there ever since the Celtic Isles rose from the earth 15 years ago."
"So technically speaking, you're 22 years old now?"
"That's right."
"Damn. That's just downright uncanny," Conall raised an eyebrow. "If that's true, then I feel kinda bad for treating you like a little brat until now."
"It's okay. I don't expect anyone to see me as an adult when I must look so small and weak to them."
"Still, that must be tough, having to pretend to be a child when you're really an adult."
"I'm fine, really. There's no helping how the Land of Shadows operates. I'm more surprised that you're just taking my word for it. I thought you'd be demanding for some kind of proof by now."
"I guess so," he agreed as he stood up and slowly withdrew his sword from its scabbard. "All right then. How does a duel sound to you?"
Connla glanced up at him perplexedly. "A duel?"
"If Scathach really was your combat instructor, then accepting my challenge should be a piece of cake, right? Not to the death, of course. I just want to see what you're capable of."
She stood up and brandished her spear. "Are there any victory conditions I should be aware of?"
"Let's see… How about whoever knocks the other's weapon out of their hands first."
She nodded, then backed away from him and got into her combat stance. He did the same, and they stared into each other's eyes fiercely. Already, he could tell how serious she was. Her amicable disposition seemed to vanish in an instant, replaced by someone far different than he expected. He didn't want to think he had picked on the wrong person, but he couldn't shake that feeling all of a sudden.
Without thinking, Connla initiated the duel by running toward Conall and engaging in a straightforward yet high-speed clash of blades. He was used to being on the offensive, but this time decided to hold out defensibly to gauge what her capabilities and fighting style were. She was definitely quick, but had to rely on pinpoint critical strikes rather than try to overcome him with brute force. Considering her small stature, he wasn't surprised she would use such an obvious tactic. However, her unusual height also made it awkward for him to strike back since he wasn't used to fighting someone so short.
He swung his sword horizontally, coming dangerously close to slicing deep into her cheek. She threw her body and head back, narrowly avoiding the strike before calmly executing a roundhouse kick that struck his lower abdomen. He stumbled aside, and she stabbed at his sword-wielding hand. He raised it out of the way in time and pushed on her back, making her stumble past him. She almost fell onto her face, but managed to tumble safely along the grass and get back up just as he was coming for her.
Connla sprung onto her feet as Conall swept low, kicking his face to disorient him before vaulting backwards onto a nearby tree. She hopped off to gain some height, planted her spear's blade into the ground, then soared in an arc over him before swinging down as hard as she could. He parried her by slashing in a wide crescent motion with all his might. The sheer force of their clashing weapons sent her spear sailing straight upwards out of her hands while landing several feet away from him.
He smirked, believing he had won as he charged in to restrain her. However, she effortlessly snatched a slingshot and some Runestones out of her skirt pocket before firing multiple rounds in quick succession, barely losing her fighting rhythm. Each pebble exploded around him thanks to them being charged with tiny Ansuz Runes, forcing him to knock aside several shots. This slowed him down enough for her to calmly retrieve her spinning polearm before it could hit the ground and she slashed at his sword multiple times, not allowing him to regain his bearings.
"Teyah!" he roared, slashing so fiercely that he cut clean into the same tree from before. She jumped backwards over the attack and grabbed a thin branch from the falling trunk, then spun around it like a gymnast before letting go and twirling her body a few times. She up-righted herself and conjured a Ken Rune, blasting a small gust of air at his extended hand holding the sword. It detonated with a sharp crack sound, causing him to fall on his buttocks and grab his wrist in pain. The sword shot out of his grasp and planted itself upside-down in the dirt nearby. She landed between him and the blade to bar him from grabbing it, and she pointed her spear at his chin before he even realized what happened.
"Cor blimey!" Conall exclaimed and threw his hands up. "I resign! This victory is yours!"
Connla remained in her combat stance, but didn't move as she watched him get back up and dust himself off. He picked up his sword and shoved it back into the scabbard as he said, "All right, missy. I can tell you've got the makings of a great warrior. Scathach certainly trained you well."
Once she realized the fight was over, she lowered her weapon and exhaled a deep sigh. She plopped her rear on a tree stump and gasped, "Haah… No matter how much I fight, it always seems to take a lot out of me."
"No kidding. A girl of your petite stature really shouldn't be having scraps with burly dudes like me. I guess that's why your style involves finishing fights as quickly as possible."
"More or less."
"But hey, that means I have confidence in suggesting you should sign up for the tournament."
She raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Tournament?"
"Oh, didn't I mention it?" he asked as he sat next to her. "I'm actually heading to Galway to take part in the Queen's Champion Tournament being held there."
"What is that supposed to be?"
"It's a competition that Medb holds once in a while to determine who the next Queen's Champion will be. The winner will be scouted as one of her strongest soldiers, being given perks the likes of which you could only dream of. I've been honing my skills in preparation for the next tournament, and now it's finally time for me to show them what I'm made of."
"Is that why you were in Sgaradh when we met? To do some training?"
"You got it. I was hanging out in Belfast providing the locals there with protection from wild animals in exchange for food and lodging. That's why I got to know Declan and Eabha so well – they allowed me to stay at their place to protect their cows from stray wolves."
"I see."
Conall stood up and grunted in consternation. "Still, to have to go to the heart of Connacht itself… Just the thought makes every ounce of bile rise up in my throat. If I had it my way, I'd gladly have it held in Armagh or Antrim."
Connla tilted her head and murmured, "You really don't like Connacht, do you?"
"Damn straight. Their royalty can especially go screw themselves. After what that bitch did to utterly humiliate Ulster, I'll never forgive her or anyone involved with her."
"But the tournament's reward is to be one of the queen's finest soldiers. Doesn't that contradict with your hatred for Connacht?"
"Yeah, it does. I wrestled with the thought for a really long time. Finally, I decided that with how everything's going to shit, I decided to swallow my feelings and go make a name for myself. I want to do some good for the people, and I figured that being a Champion would allow me more freedom to reach any civilians in trouble. Being a Champion carries with it the reputation of being the long arm of justice, and I've witnessed more than enough tragedy and suffering to want to bring some semblance of stability to this mad world."
"So it's not about serving the queen, but rather the people."
"Right. Tragedies like with Declan and Eabha are so common that many folks have given up hope of the nobility giving a rat's ass about their welfare. I want to make a difference somehow, even if it winds up only being a little in the end."
Connla thought about what Conall was saying and silently agreed with him. Even though she had only been in Ireland for such a short time, seeing two suicides in less than 24 hours was enough for her to make the same decision as to how she wanted to live her life. She dreaded to think of how many similarly terrible events Conall had witnessed in his time to be so determined, especially when it came to the so-called pre-Dublin era that he explained to her earlier.
She then said, "So once we reach Galway, I'll be looking for Fergus while you enter the tournament."
"I hate to break it to you, but I don't think you'll have much luck with meeting the king on your own," he admitted. "Even without it being so busy right now, he's often preoccupied with royal duties and thus doesn't accept audiences for anyone except the most prestigious of Connacht's druids."
"Oh. That's going to be a problem. Teacher told me that I have to see him as soon as possible."
"That's why I suggested you entered the tournament. If you wallop as many opponents as you can in such a public forum, he's bound to notice that you're her student just from your fighting style."
"Hmm," she pondered his idea for a moment. "That doesn't sound like a bad idea. The thing is, are they going to allow a girl of my age to enter?"
"Ugh… Good point," he scratched his head. "They do have an age restriction. I mean, there is the Boy-Troop division, but even that's only for boys anywhere between 10 to 16. Those kids wouldn't last five seconds against your skills, meaning you'd have no way of demonstrating your real potential to Fergus. It's also rare for females to enter the tournament since warrior women are not as common in Ireland as they are in Scotland."
Both of them mulled over how to solve this quandary. They went through a few ideas, but none of them were feasible so long as she appeared as young as she did.
Suddenly, Conall snapped his fingers and exclaimed with a broad grin, "That's it!"
"Huh? What's it?" Connla asked.
"A sponsor! If we could convince a nobleman to vouch for your skills, you would be able to get around the age restriction!"
"Would that really work?"
"Sure! I know the right guy for it too! We'll have to carry on like usual, but then stop in Castlegar just outside Galway. It'd be perfect, since my folks live in the area and we can do some training in their fields."
"Well, I really don't know what you're talking about, so I'll just have to trust you."
"Don't worry about a thing. The old coot may pretend to hate guests, but he actually loves having them over. Too bad I can't say the same for his dogs," Conall said as he eagerly began trotting along the path.
She grew curious as she muttered, "… Dogs?"