Law & Order

The Arrival of the Moon Touched.

Jan 01, 2025

Previously, Balgair Moeldr accepted the position of Reeve in the small town of Eola. After saving the beautiful blonde Heather, the two were bonded together by the Goddess Ananke. Heather was kidnapped by Indigo Yarsmith, an assassin, and Brigit, a witch, who planned to use her to free a chaos god from the prison of the gods.

After rescuing Heather, the new Reeve settles into his new job and awaits the arrival of his Bhanna, Amelia, and Nell.

Early Mart – 300 P.F.

The captain of the Moon Touched stood in the center of the Quarterdeck, peering into the crystal ball that showed him what it looked like below the cloud cover.

It had taken almost two months for the snow around Mòintich de bhluathan to melt enough to allow travel between the lands surrounding Manse na Blàthan and most points North and East. The massive storms and falling snow had surprised everyone south of San Ang. The southern half of Roaintean Mora rarely had bad storms and had never seen snow.

That had changed right after the incident at Tri abhainn, when a goddess had called up a sudden storm to prevent the man she called her son from leaving. Since then, the northern part of the land had been buried in snow, and storms had raged for days.

The sudden squalls had caused damage to ships caught unaware and dwellings down below.

The Earth Elemental, standing at the wheel, scanned the sails and lines and then glanced over at the captain. “How’s it looking, sir?” Not that he needed the captain’s thoughts. He could feel the near-frozen ground starting to thaw. He could even feel the seed grass starting to grow again.

The Captain looked up from the orb and met the Elemental’s black eyes. “It looks like the snow is melting. I hope it didn’t damage the landing cradles.” But that’s was his problem to worry about, it would be the concern of the dock master of the local militaries supply depot. His only concern was reaching the fortified town of Eola and having his two guests disembark.

It wasn’t that the red-headed ciad-ghin and her brunette bond-sister were bad passengers. Far from it, they had graciously accepted the use of the unused cabin next to his. They hadn’t complained of being kept inside the great cabin or the very aft end of the quarter deck. Nor had they complained of the simple ship fare. In short, they had been the perfect guests. He would just be glad to have them gone.

Normally, he wouldn’t have taken unescorted women as passengers, but the ship’s owner, the master of Manse na Blàthan, Rhyslin Darkblade, himself had asked the captain to transport the ladies to the small country town.

The Earth Elemental nodded and sent a mental inquiry to the small iron golems that were working the docking cradles. They affirmed that the cradles were good to go.

The captain took another look below the cloud cover and called out to the exotic-looking woman leaning over the bow of the ship. “Mise Vestra, are we ready to descend?”

Cerulean eyes flicked in his direction as the white-haired Air Elemental checked the ship for readiness. “We are, sir. We can land when you are ready.”

Chapter One

Balgair Moeldr, the former captain of the Black Hills Company, Chain-Maker of Ananke, and the new Reeve of Eola, was hard at work in his office when his scribe pounded on the door.

He would have ignored the knocking, save he was waiting for some important news. He glanced up with a wry smirk. It seemed that someone always found a reason to bother him when he was busy. “I’ll be through in a few minutes,” he called out as he continued to read the report from one of Parcival’s agents.

When the scribe continued to knock on the door, Balgair sighed softly and slid the report into a black folder before putting the folder into his desk drawer. “What is it, Delilah?” It was always Delilah who knocked on his door, and it was right after she made sure it was important enough to bother him.

“Sir,” the brunette offered, pushing the door open and peeking inside. “I have a message from the lookouts on the Northern Wall.”

That caught his attention, and he looked down at the calendar on his desk. “What day is it?”

“Dihaoine, sir.” She affirmed as he watched the slow smile that crossed his lips. It was the look of a man about to rejoin with his other half, or in Balgair’s case, his bhanna.

A smile shone in his eyes when he looked up from the calendar. “What’s the report from the Northern Wall?”

The scribe wondered why she felt so nervous about meeting the two new women, so she crumpled her skirt between her fingers. “There is a transport approaching in a direct line with the quartermaster's drydock. The lookouts report that it’s flying a craobh na Cruinne banner on the mainmast.” Balgair grinned at the mention of the World Tree. “It’s about time,” he whispered with profound feeling, having missed his Bhanna more than he realized. Balgair closed his eyes and felt the long-dormant bond between himself, Amelia, and Nell reawakened. His mind was flooded with the sensations of bitter berries and sweet lilacs.

“Delilah. Is Heather going to be there when the transport lands?” He knew Heather wanted to be there, just as Amelia and Nell wanted her there as well. He felt how disappointed they’d be if she weren’t, and that was something he wanted to avoid.

The scribe nodded tersely. “I’ve sent Samson to get her. We can take the office buggy and meet her at the quartermaster's.”

The Reeve pushed his chair away from the desk and stood up. After taking a few minutes to stretch, he pulled the navy cloak from where he had draped it over his chair and wrapped it around his shoulders before shrugging it so it fell down his back.

When he was ready, he moved toward the door. “Shall we go then? If we aren’t there when that transport lands, I fear my Bhanna will tear this town apart until they find me.” If they did that, it wouldn’t be pretty. The last time they went looking for him, Nell put a lecherous soldier in the sick tent, but then, he had accosted Amelia, and Nell was very protective of her bond-sister.

Delilah cautiously asked as they walked out the door, “Would they tear the town apart to find you?”

Balgair shrugged, “It’s been about six months since I’ve seen them, so yes, they might tear the town apart.” He couldn’t believe it had been six months. Sometimes, it didn’t feel like it, and sometimes, it felt longer. With each step taken toward the buggy, he felt them tug at his bond and couldn’t wait to see them.

“In that case, we had better go,” Delilah teased as she climbed into the buggy and waited for Balgair to join her.

Crann na beatha

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