Freeing the Sleeper

After Andrea had left on her errand, Astra said to Simon: "Finding Aethir seems to have taken you by surprise. Yet when you talked to Belboz, you seemed to be expecting to find him and to know what you must do if you did." "Aye, I had half expected to find him, Astra, but not like this - not as a prisoner. I thought that, since he had never returned, the Faeries' blandishments must have worked on him, and that he had not returned because he didn't want to, not because he was unable to. Had that been the case, then I would have had to try to remove him from the Wood forcibly, impossible task though that might seem, to give him the chance to return to his senses once outside. But I did him an injustice. I should have known that no Faery words could ensnare him." "Yet a tree did." "Aye. No doubt he thought that putting his back to a big tree would be the safest way to spend the night. He had no way of knowing how wrong he was. Once he was asleep, the tree must have trapped him. As you yourself have found, in this enchanted place people go to sleep readily, and they are not always easily awakened."

Astra made a face. "Don't remind me. It was a terrible moment when I woke and found you gone." "I'm sorry, Astra. It was thoughtless of me to go off without warning you, but you looked so peaceful that I didn't want to wake you. As day was breaking, I thought you'd be safe enough without me, and I went for a quick scout around. I expected to be back before anyone else had stirred." "So what are you going to do when Andrea gets back?" "Wait and see. But you should be able to work it out for yourself."

Throughout Simon and Astra's lengthy conversation, Frederigo had stood a little apart, silent and seemingly brooding. Astra thought that he seemed somehow disengaged from his companions, apart from occasional moments such as the one when he had comforted her when she had awoken to find Simon gone.

As she fetched the water, Andrea thought about the events of the morning. She had never thought that she would see Astra cry. Perhaps the warrior woman was more emotionally vulnerable than Andrea had thought. Somehow she found that comforting. It made her feel less inadequate in comparison to the normally very tough and resilient princess.

When Andrea returned, Simon said a simple blessing over the water. Andrea again felt pain for a moment, but she managed not to gasp this time, though anyone observing her closely might have noticed that she winced. Once he had finished the blessing, Simon withdrew the stopper from the bottle, and threw its contents over the branches, roots and vines that held Aethir MacFionn prisoner. Where the holy water came in contact with the branches, it rapidly ate through them as if it was a strong acid. Even the undamaged portions of the vines and of the more flexible roots and branches seemed to draw back, as if fearful of further injury.

Frederigo and Astra lifted up the freed body of Aethir MacFionn, and carried him to a safe distance from the tree before laying him on the ground. He still appeared deep in slumber. "What do we do now?" Astra asked. "Why, we wait, of course. I hope that, freed from the sleeping spell imposed on him by the tree, he will soon awaken. Trying forcibly to wake him might give him too much of a shock."

1. So they waited.
2. Suddenly, the entire forest seemed to shudder, and a chill wind blew through the trees...

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