#the well at the world's end

[itsalwayswellattheworldsend]

Book 3 Chapter 2 - Ralph Rides the Wood Under the Mountains

Text Audio

Synopsis:

Ralph rides the wood under the mountains.

Summary:

Ralph rode for a long time without anything unusual happening to him. As he rode, his heart lifted at the thought that he was now free from the confusion and lying of those strange people who knew nothing about him or his family, and yet used him for their own purposes. And he was all together glad to be riding alone on his quest more, free, healthy, and well-armed.

The wood was not very thick as he rode through it, so he could see where the sun was, and he kept going east as far as he could tell. He had some food with him, and he found wild fruit here and there, which he added to his supplies. Nor did he have trouble finding water, as spent a good deal of time riding alongside a stream that cut through the thicket, seemingly coming down from the mountains, which also helped him make good time. Eventually, though, he had to leave the stream as it turned too much to the north.

As the sun set, he came to a clearing where there was a pool of clean water, and for that whole day he had seen neither people nor animals since he parted with Agatha. He stopped there to sleep with his sword unsheathed beside him, and he did not wake up until the sun was high the next morning. Then he got up, washed and ate, and went on his way.

Before nightfall, he found that same stream again, and now it was coming straight from the east, so he slept on its bank. The next day he followed the stream for a long time before it began to drift north again, at which point he left it and navigated eastward by the sun.

Ralph passed through thickets and among hilly lands of coarse grass, with shrubs and thorn-trees scattered around it. From there, he saw time and time again that huge wall of mountains rising up into the air like a great black cloud trying to swallow the sky, and though the sight was terrible, it made him happy, since he knew that he was going the right direction. So he rode a long way, going mostly uphill, until at last he stood in front of a huge pine forest, which he could not see the end of either north or south of him.

It was late afternoon then, and Ralph wondered whether he should spend the night where he was , or if he should keep going and hope to find a clearing before dark. Because this place was rough and waterless, he decided it would be best to go on after he rested his horse and let him graze for a while. Then he rode on, going into the woods and trying to cover as much ground as he could.[1]

Notes:

[1] Not really anything to say about this one. It might be the least-exciting chapter so far. At least it was super duper short. Also I got to update the map again finally.

Map:

[theblackknightofworcestershire]

stories about a journey to the edge of the world are like heroin to me. i will love it every. single. time. even if it's not good i will still love it i don't care. quality is meaningless in the face of such a hypnotic and philosophically interesting setpiece.

[demigods-posts]

percy doing better than annabeth in college is one my favorite developments in the rrverse. if we reflect on percy and annabeth's academic upbringing. annabeth living at camp allowed her to receive accommodations for her adhd and dyslexia and surround herself with like-minded campers who had the same limitations. whereas percy was ridiculed, belittled, and routinely humiliated because of his adhd and dyslexia. even more so, percy's friends and family leave him out of the loop on so many important issue (no chb orientation film, no information about the great prophecy) which perpetuates his subpar confidence and self-esteem in his skills as a student and a demigod. but going to college at NRU changes his mindset because he receives the accommodations he should have gotten years ago and fucking thrives to the point of getting higher grades than annabeth — a person he deems way smarter and more prepared than him in every way. the most important thing percy is learning now is that a supportive environment makes all the difference, and he is more capable than he initially thought.

[kelocitta]

O' Hypocrite

[bluerosefox]

Her Astrophel and Sterling

hmmm

Hmmmmmmmm

You know what.

You know those AU's where the Batfam finds or learns about either hidden or thought to be dead Al Ghul Danny! with a deaged/daughter Dani (Ellie) (I should know, I created a few of those storylines) but what if, now hear me out, what if instead of them finding Danny first its Talia.

Do I want Talia discovering her thought to be dead son to be alive? Yes. Do I want her to find him while investigating Amity Park when the League gets reports of 'Lazarus creatures/water'? Yes.

DO I WANT HER TO KNOCK ON THE FENTON'S DOOR, fully ready to pretend/honey talk her way into the house to uncover what the Fenton's know, ONLY TO MEET A LITTLE ELLIE?!

YES.

Ellie whose eyes and hair look like a copy of her Beloved but she can see bits and pieces of herself as well. Talia knows the child in front of her was not fully her's though but everything makes sense when she hears a voice, a voice she hasn't heard in ages but as a mother just knows, speak out.

"Ellie! I thought I said do not answer the door my Sterling."

"But Daddy, yous was busy fighting the hotdoggys!"

Talia's eyes widen when she finally catches sight of familiar black hair and blue eyes.

and she could only lightly whisper a old nickname she hasn't dared uttered in ages, a name she secretly gave her son due to his love of the stars "Astrophel..."

[pancakemolybdenum]

worlds smuggest tween owning noobs on wizard101

[goldensunset]

when people refer to canon story-relevant kingdom hearts games as ‘spinoffs’ it makes me sad not only for the obvious reasons i always say but also bc like man i WISH this series had spinoffs. imagine what they could do if they had permission from nomura to truly go off the rails and ignore the greater canon for a second and just do some fun whimsical plotless thing in an alternate universe. imagine a fishing/boating game on destiny islands. kh fighting game. it is an injustice that we have been deprived of kingdom karts. can anyone hear me

[hellishfig]

for the amount of time i spend thinking about erika ishii, i do not post about them NEARLY enough

everything i've ever seen them in, they have been fully dialed in. they understand the genre, they understand the character they're playing, and they NEVER. FUCKING. MISS

my current dnd character is actually based on multiple characters of erika's that i enjoy. my character is a witch (like ame of worlds beyond number fame [thank you to the witch class playtest]) but she is also a brewer who grows weed and shrooms, and deals them, and does them (and her personality is very much modeled off of danielle barkstock in dimension 20's the seven)

i feel that many of my favorite moments from erika are often focused on other characters. but many of those character moments would not have been possible without erika's incredible roleplay and sense for storytelling

and when the moment IS focused on erika's character? spellbinding. groundbreaking. from ame talking to orima in the overgrown shrine to danielle getting a nat 20 at the masquerade ball, i always fall into the scene and feel it so deeply due to erika's skill and poise and commitment to the story being told

tldr i think erika ishii is incredibly talented and wonderful

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Burning Rotten Bridges

[First] Prev <–-> Next

[clouvu]

Save me french yuri... Save me

[itsalwayswellattheworldsend]

Book 3 Chapter 1 - An Adventure in the Wood Under the Mountains

Text Audio

Synopsis:

Ralph meets a woman in the woods and uncovers a conspiracy.

Summary:

"By thine eyes I swear that this is sooth, and that there is naught else in it than this: My lady set her love, when first she set her eyes upon thee—as forsooth all women must:”

Two hours after midnight—at the time he had planned—Ralph stepped out of his tent wearing his armor and weapons, and he went to the fallen oak, where he found Redhead with a single horse. From this, Ralph knew that he was keeping to his plan of going to Utterbol. Ralph took him by the shoulder and hugged him, though he was a rough man, and Redhead knelt to him briefly, then stood and went off into the night.

Ralph quickly mounted his horse and rode carefully across the highway and into the woods, where he found no one to stop him. Although there was only starlight to see by, there was a path and the horse found it, so he made it a good distance before even the first glimmer of dawn, especially since the woods thinned some after the first mile and he found clearings here and there.

So Ralph rode until the sun was about to ride, and he was near the middle of one of those grassy clearings when he saw thicker underbrush ahead than he had seen before. So he stopped and looked around for a moment, and as he did he heard a sound even gentler than the cy of a jay in a beech-tree, and more shrill than the morning breeze moving through the woods. He sat and listened carefully, and he thought he heard the voice of a woman, and he remembered his that old, dear adventure in the Wood Perilous, for he was dreamy with eagerness and the long, lonely night. But he wasn’t sure about the voice he heard, so moved on, thinking it best not to linger.

His horse had barely taken a step before a woman came running out of the woods in front of him, coming towards him through the grass. So he immediately dismounted and went to meet her, leading his horse, and as he drew close he could see she was in poor condition. She had gathered up her skirt to run better, and her legs and feet were bare, her cap having fallen off at some point and her black hair streaming out behind her.  Her gown was torn around the shoulders and chest so that one of her sleeves hung in tatters, as if someone had grabbed it.

She ran up to him, crying out: “Help, knight, help us!” and then she fell at his feet panting and sobbing.

He bent and helped her up, and said with a kind voice: “What’s wrong, fair woman? What happened, and how can I help? Is someone chasing you?”

She stood there crying for a moment, and then took hold of his hands and said: “Oh, fair lord, please come and help my lady![1] I’m already safe, now that I’m with you.”

“Should I mount up?” he asked, moving away from her, but she held on to his hands and seemed to enjoy it. She did not say anything for a while, but stared earnestly into his face. She was a fair woman, dark and slim… for in truth she was none other than Agatha, who was spoken of before.[2]

Ralph was somewhat embarrassed by her forwardness, and he lowered his eyes, but he could not help but notice that despite the briars and brambles of the woods she had run through, there were no scratches on her bare legs and her arm was not bruised where the sleeve was torn away.

At last she slowly, as though thinking about it, said: “Oh knight, I compel you by your oath as a knight to come help my lady! She nad I have been captured by evil men, and I fear that they will put her to shame and torture her before they take her away, for they were tying her to a tree when I escaped. They paid little attention to me as I am only a maid, and they had my lady in their hands.”

“All right,” he said, “And who is your lady?”

“She is the Lady of the Burnt Rock; and I fear that these men are the Riders of Utterbol, and that they will treat her harshly, for there is nothing but hatred between my lord and the tyrant of Utterbol.”[3]

“How many of them are there,” asked Ralph.

“Only three, fair lord, only three,” she said, “And you are so fair and strong, like the god of war himself.”

Ralph laughed: “Three to one is long odds,” he said, “but I will come with you once you let go of my hands and I can mount my horse. You should ride behind me, fair woman, as tired as you must be after the night you’ve had.”

She looked at him curiously and placed one hand on his chest. The rings of his chainmail tinkled beneath his embroidered overcoat. She said: “No, I should go on foot ahead of you, as disarrayed as I am.”

Then she let him go, but followed him with her eyes as he got himself into the saddle. She walked by the horse’s head, and Ralph wondered at how calmly she went, having just been so desperate moments before. She stepped carefully, gracefully avoiding rough patches as she went.

They went on like this through the underbrush, and the woman cautiously held aside the briars and thorns as she went, which slowed their pace even further, until they came to a pleasant place with oak trees and green grass. Here she stopped and turned to face Ralph and say something. Her voice was different than before, now no longer pleading, but filled with something like mocking and glee.

“Sir knight,” she said, ”I have something to tell you, and this is a nice place for us to talk together as it is neither too near or far from her, so I can easily find my way back to her. Now, lord, I ask that you dismount and listen to me.” With that, she sat down on the grass as the base of a great oak.

“But your lady,” said Ralph, “What about her?”

“Oh sir,” she said; “My lady will be all right. She is tied loosely enough that she can free herself if she needs to. Come down, dear lord, come down!”

But Ralph sat on his horse and furrowed his brow and said: “What is this, woman? Have you been leading me on? Where is your lady whom you wanted me to rescue? If this is a game, let me go on my way; I have an important task, and time is short.”

She stood up and came close to him, placing one hand on his knee and looking wistfully into his face. She said with a sigh: “No then, I can tell you while you sit in your saddle, then, since I think you will leave me quickly once I am done.”

Then Ralph felt bad about how he spoke to her, and she now became gentle, sweet, and alluring, and sadness tinged her voice. So he got off his horse and tied him to a tree, then went to stand by the woman as she reclined on the grass. He said: “I ask that you tell me your story and then let me go, if there is nothing I can do to help you.”

Then she said: “The first thing is that I lied about Red Rock. My lady is the Queen of Utterbol, and I am her thrall, and it is I who have led you here from the camp.”

Ralph’s face reddened in anger when he thought about how he had been dragged here and there by other people with their own goals ever since he left Upmeads. But he said nothing, and Agatha looked at him timidly, saying: "I say that I am her thrall, and I did it to serve her and because she asked me to.”

Ralph said roughly: “And Redhead, whom, I saved from torture and death; do you know him? Did you know him?”

“Yes,” she said, “I learned about you from him and the captains, and then I put words in his mouth.”

“Yes then, so he is also a traitor!”

“No, no,” she said, “He is an honest man and he loves you, and whatever he has told you, he believes it, himself. Furthermore, I tell you here and now that all he told you about the affairs of Utterbol and your fate there are true, very true.”

She jumped to her feet then and stood in front of him with her hands clasped in front of her. “I know that you are seeking the Well at the World’s End and freedom for the woman whom the Lord stole from the wild man. Now I swear by your mouth that if you go to Utterbol, it will be your undoing and you will meet a terrible fate there. Furthermore, doing so would bring terrible shame and torture to the young woman.”

“But how is she now?”

Agatha said: “She is all right, for my lady does not hate her yet, or hates her only a little. And more importantly, my lord loves her in his own way, and I think fears her somewhat. Because despite the fact that he has completely refused his advances, he has hardly threatened her, which is unheard of. Had any other woman done this, she would have known all the bitterness that leads to death in Utterbol by now.” She smiled and spoke delicately: “Many people tell me what I want to know, and that is sometimes because I take the information from them with my wits, and sometimes because I buy them with my body. Anyway, what I tell you about the young woman is the truth: though she is in danger, she would be in immediate, life-threatening danger if you were to go to Utterbol. You, who are her lover…”

“No,” said Ralph angrily, “I am not her lover, I merely care about her wellbeing.”[5]

“Well,” said Agatha, looking down and furrowing her brow, “when your good will towards her becomes known, she will at once be thrown into the pit of my lord’s cruelty. Yes, to tell the truth as it is, for your sake (since I don’t care about her), I hope that the lord returns to Utterbol to find her missing.”

“Yes,” said Ralph, reddening, “and is there any hope of her escaping?”

“I think so,” said Agatha. She was silent for a while, then said in a low voice: “It is said that any man who sees her loves her. Yes, and they will be her friend, even if she rejects their advances.[6] She may have already left Utterbol.”

Ralph stood silent for a while with a troubled face. Then he said: “You have not yet told me why you put on this whole charade, tricking me into escaping from the camp. Tell me your reasons so I may forgive you and be on my way.”

“I swear by your eyes that this is true, and that there is nothing else to it than this: My lady fell in love with you when she first saw you—as all women must, in truth. As for me, I had not seen you (though I told my lady that I had), until just before when we met in the woods.”

Then she sighed and with her right hand, toyed with the rip in her gown over her chest. She said: “She thought that if you were taken to Utterbol as a thrall, she might command your body, but she could not gain your love. But maybe if you found her in danger and could rescue her, you might pity her, and love might come from it as has often happened before, as my lady is a beautiful woman. Therefore I, who am my lady’s servant and thrall, and who, I ask you to remember, had not seen you, set this adventure in motion, like a minstrel’s play done in real life. Also, I spoke to my lord and told him about it, and though he laughed at my lady to me, he was content because he wanted her to completely set her heart on you, since he feared her jealousy and possible meddling in his relationship with his new love. Therefore, he set you free (in words, at least), and when he had you in his clutches at Utterbol (as he did not doubt he would) he could do whatever he needed to do to you, depending on the situation.

“In his heart, he hates you, which I could see plainly. So a little before you left the camp, the Queen and I snuck out into the woods a little way from here. There, I disarrayed both my lady and myself, as much as we needed to make the ruse believable. Then I came to you, pretending it to be by chance, so I could take you to her. If you had followed, we had a story for you, which your knighthood would tie you to, so that you would help her and take her where she needed. Eventually, this would be Utterbol, but in the meantime you would have gone to a nearby stronghold. This is the whole story, and now if you wish, you may pardon me or take out your sword and cut off my head. Indeed, I think that would be the better act.”

She knelt in front of him and put her palms together, looking up at him pleadingly. His expression darkened when he saw her like this, but at last it cleared and he said: “Woman, you would make a bad playwright, and the whole show is for nothing.[7] I would have figured out the whole trick once we reached Utterbol, and I would have hated the lady for it.”

“Yes, but by then my lady might have had enough of your love, and likely would have let you fall into the hands of the Lord. Look! I’ve saved you from this, so now you are free from the Lord and the lady and from me. And again I say that you could hardly have avoided a miserable ending for yourself and the young woman at Utterbol.”

“Yes,” said Ralph, softly, as though speaking to himself, “but I am lonely and friendless.” Then he turned to Agatha and said: “The end of all of this is that I pardon you and must go immediately, for when you two get back to camp, they’ll come after me.”

She got up from her knees and stood before him humbly and said: “No, I will repay your forgiveness by telling my lady a story which will keep us in the woods for two or three days, which we brought supplies for already.”

“I will at least thank you for that, and I believe that you will keep your word.”

“Then may I ask one gift from you? For, in truth, terrible things away me in Utterbol.”

“I’ll give it to you,” he said.

“I ask that you give me a kiss before we part.”

“I said that I would,” said Ralph, “But I must tell you that the kiss will carry little love with it.”

She said nothing, but placed her hands on his chest and turned her face up to him, and he kissed her lips. Then she said: “Knight, you have kissed a thrall and a deceitful woman, but one who will strike for you. Therefore, do not regret the kiss or your kind forgiveness.”

“What will happen to you?” he asked.

She looked at him with a steadfast expression for a moment, then said: “Farewell, may all things go well with you.” Then she turned away and walked off slowly into the woods, and he pitied her somewhat.

As he got in his saddle, he sighed to himself: “How could I help her? It’s true that she’s in a bad spot, but I can’t save everyone.” Then he shook his rein and rode on.[8]

Notes:

[1] Lowercase in the original, as are the other instances here. Unsure if this chapter is an anomaly on Morris’ part, or Agatha intentionally giving less respect to her masters while they aren’t present. There may have been a long break between ending Book 2 and starting Book 3, which may have altered Morris’ writing habits (consistency is not one of his strong suits).

[2] I was going to change “fair” to “beautiful” here as I often do, but I left it to specifically illustrate the issue I run into doing that, as “fair” means both “beautiful” and “fair-skinned.” This is a good example, since Agatha is specified to have a dark complexion (even in this sentence), so it shows the ambiguity. Also, another instance of the narrative speaking to the audience.

[3] We haven’t heard of a place called “Burnt Rock,” but given that Agatha knows Ralph is unfamiliar with the area, it’s possible that it’s a total fabrication. I think that’s likely, since we were previously told that the Lord of Utterbol controls everything between Goldburg and the mountains, and everything within 100 miles north or south of Utterbol. As we’re currently in the heart of the Lord’s territory, it’s hard to believe there’s any enemy place nearby. Unless Burnt Rock is a real place, but one that is just part of the Lord’s territory.

[4] She’s definitely trying to appeal to Ralph’s ego here, but I’m not sure if the “war-god” (as it is in the original) is meant to be taken as a reference to the eastlands’ heathenness or not.

[5] Whatever you say, Ralph.

[6] See my previous notes about the use of the word “friend” in this time period. In short, a friend is an ally or someone who wants to help someone, not necessarily two people who are on equal emotional terms. Also, this might be the first time that Dorothea is referenced as someone people all fall in love with? At least explicitly and with the same terminology used for Ralph and the Lady.

[7] There’s been a running metaphor with this whole act being called a “play,” which (like most metaphors I think could be ambiguous), I changed to a clearer phrasing. Here, Ralph says she would be a poor “maker,” which is an old term for a poet, which I extended to “playwright” given the context and the historical entanglement of the two professions.

[8] A disappointing conclusion to the intrigues of Utterbol. I have a feeling that by the time he started Book 3, Morris was tired and just wanted to get on to the Well, so he tied up his other loose ends to quickly set Ralph’s course. As with most of his shortcuts, it’s reasonably justified in-world, but it’s not as interesting as it could have been. I don’t think it would have even been too much more writing to have the act play out and let Ralph realize what’s going on and escape on his own, considering how long this already chapter is. 

Map:

[viveela]

I've spent a year of my life on you

[opikiquu]

my life a movie (PSYCHOLOGICAL HORROR)

[cubbihue]

“He knows Timmy will come around eventually. It's only a matter of waiting for his clock to run out. And HP is very patient.” Hey uh.. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN HIS CLOCK TO RUN OUT is he waiting for Timmy to become a full fairy (Pixie?) and when that happens Timmy forgets about being a human entirely?

Sometimes Timmy wonders why he has grudges against certain fairies. Some of them, he can understand- like his dislike of Dr. Rip Studwell. But other ones, like with Cupid, it's a bit of a blur.

He must've been a very very vindictive 10 year old! Ah, well! Timmy's learned that he has to pick and choose his own battles wisely.

And uh. Fighting with the man who decides his paycheck and vacation days is not a battle worth choosing. Talk about a hostile work environment!!

Bitties Series: [Start] > [Previous] > [Next]

[ministarfruit]

day 26: apocalypse ♡

(femslashfeb prompt list)

[firefighterkinard]

We're really overlooking the potential of a Karen Wilson (genius rocket scientist and apocalyptic doomsayer wife) and Tommy Kinard (nerd about everything mechanical and the cynical black cat boyfriend) friendship.