//------------------------------// // Chapter 13, Farewell to Eagle's Vale // Story: Daring Do and the Gryphon's Quest // by De Writer //------------------------------// Chapter 13. Farewell to the Eagle's Vale Daring Do came out of the side chamber of the cave to where the changeling was. She was making a contented crooning sound as she sat in a depression the center of the circle of eggs. She and the eggs were all contained inside a gently glowing green field, like a half of a large egg. Once in a while, to a cue that Daring Do could not see, she reached out and turned or partly turned one of the Eagle eggs. Daring Do made another sketch of this behavior, never before observed by anypony. The changeling glanced up and expanded its soft glow to include Daring Do. It was a peculiar sensation. Daring Do felt safe, loved and protected in a way that she had not known that she missed. The memory that it brought forth with utter clarity was that of being carried in a knapsack on her mother's back. Carmen Pondiego, breaking into museum, gallery, castle or strong room, always carried her like that. Then, suddenly, she was abandoned to the care of ponies who did not care, or not that way. No touch, no constant companionship, only rules. Rules and books. Books full of the wonders of the past. She sat and quietly cried. With surprise, she realized that she was not alone. The changeling had not abandoned her precious eggs, but she had come to gently snuggle Daring Do, horn laid softly to the pegasus' forehead, sharing the whole memory, both the love and the pain. Sharing the memory and giving the support of an unquestioning love. It helped. A lot. Eyes filled with tears, Daring Do hugged the changeling to her and said, “I don't know how to thank you. I have something to ask that may be bad for you.” The changeling nodded. “I/we saw it when we shared ourself with you. You want to take away some of my/our nymphs that did not live, from so long ago. “Take them. I/we remember war. I/we do not want to be a part of making another. I do love them still but, like the eggs from the hive, they cannot love me back as they should.” Grata, who had been watching, asked quietly, “Mother of my kind, I am more worried about you than I am about the relics, however important they may be. If we leave here, how will you fare? I do not want to see you hurt or abandoned again. What of your Eagles and their eggs? Are they not precious too?” The changeling wept. “They are. They may not be clever like you, but they are my nymphs and I/we love them. They love me/us, too. I/we do not want to leave them but I/we do not want to be without you, my nymphs that have returned at last, either. I/we do not want to lose any of my precious eggs or nymphs.” Grata paused to think with care. “Our cart might be a partial answer. If you can properly tend your eggs while they are in it, we could all help to bring them along. For the rest, your Eagle nymphs have wings, if they are willing to follow their mother. We welcome Eagles in the Empire.” The changeling brightened up at once. “I/we can ask! It will take some time but I/we can do that.” Eagerly the changeling trotted out of the cave and went to a broad stone ledge protruding like a small peninsula into the lake. Her pale green magic reached up in soft wisps. The Eagles flew into them on purpose. From their familiarity and lack of fear, it was clear that they had done this before. Some of them flew off. They returned, leading more Eagles. Many more, in fact. From their direction of flight, Daring Do deduced that they were from the long part of Eagle's Vale, leading up to this bowl. Quite a few of the Eagles landed around the changeling and crowded close without any squabbling. They all got enclosed in the changeling's green magic. Daring Do was sketching the scene like a maniac. Soon the Eagles dispersed and the changeling came back, light of step, almost bouncing. “Ein ma nymphes w . . . I/we are sorry, so excited. My/our Eagle nymphs will come with me/us. I/we can go with you! Their/our eggs must come too. I/we meet my/our long lost nymphs!” Grata, Rahak and Daring Do went to get their cart. As he pulled in harness, Rahak commented, “At least this is easier than bringing it down into this crater!” Using a big brush knife to clear path, Daring Do retorted, “Speak for yourself, Rahak!” She was sweating out from under her pith helmet as she swung again at a particularly tough brush stem! They got the cart as close to the cave entrance as the boulders allowed. Grata, looking at the supplies that they were taking into the cave, remarked, “You expected to find something like this, didn't you, Doctor Do?” Daring Do, lugging in some of the specimen safety wrapping material, shook her head as she replied, “Not like this, no. I thought that if we were lucky, we might find some fragmentary remains. I never expected to find a complete series of perfectly preserved skeletons all in one place.” As she realized what they were doing, the changeling's green magic began to assist them with the delicate work of preparing her long loved and cared for failed nymphs for transport. They were so small and dried out that the protective wrappings weighed more and took up more space than the skeletons themselves. Her magic was a great help. When they broke for a meal, the changeling took time to tend her precious Eagle eggs. She gently removed the ancient eggs that she had tended fruitlessly for over two thousand years. She laid them with care in the side chamber where the skeletons of her loved but dead nymphs had lain. With tears in her eyes she softly enclosed them all in her pale green magic and spoke in her ancient tongue. “Nach na anny hiven fer os. Ein os sa sore harten. Layin reste eiver mare.” Daring Do translated for the others in a soft, reverent voice, “There is no hive for us. I/we am so sore of heart. Lay in rest forever more.” Grata wept, her crest low in sorrow. She vowed, “How she must hurt to give up that dream. If there is any way, I will see that she is whole again.” Rahak stood to attention, crest set as for the fallen. He had a tear in the corner of his eye too. After eating a meal almost untasted, Daring Do noticed that the changeling was not among them. Seeking her, Daring Do saw that she was out by the cart, surrounded by Eagles. The huge birds were all cuddling close and carefully preening her. Some were bringing her fish from the lake. Besides sketching and recording the scene, Daring Do noted, “They are not a hive. Their love is a wild thing but true.” Grata saw it too and suggested, “We have what we came for, Doctor Do. How shall we arrange the cart to carry her eggs?” Daring Do looked at the carefully done load in the cart. All of their unnecessary supplies and equipment had been removed. Her rifle and ammunition were placed to be at the ready. Except for loading the changeling's precious cargo of Eagle eggs, they were ready to go. Finally, the Eagles were done comforting the changeling who had raised them and cared for them so deeply. She returned and inspected how the cart's load was done. She made a sort of nest out of blankets and began setting in the eggs, one by one, each getting nestled separately. Green magic settled deeply into each one. When the changeling was satisfied with how her eggs were loaded, they set out. At the foot of the steep slope leading out of the crater, they stopped to camp for the night. Grata observed, “Getting caught on that mess by nightfall? I would hope not!” When they built their campfire, the changeling's pale, soft green magic surrounded the fire for a bit and then settled over her load of eggs. It stayed there keeping them warm and safe. All around the camp, Eagles roosted, settling in for the night to be near to the changeling that loved them and to whom they had given their wild love. The next morning, after the breakfast fire was put out, Daring Do directed the set up of the cart for getting it up the steep grade. Rahak asked, “TWO ropes on it?” Daring Do nodded. Right. One will be a safety line that we will keep snubbed tight around something solid. The other will be our pulling line. When we get up even with the safety line's anchor, we will trade off. “We will find a safe place to snub the old pulling line and free the old safety to use for pulling. That will keep the cart under safe control at all times.” Seeing that the changeling was listening, she added, “I don't want anything to put those eggs at risk.” They began the arduous task of hauling the cart up the slope. The changeling pushed from behind, staying close to her eggs. Her magic was cast in a gentle green net over them, keeping them warm. She was even turning them, Daring Do noticed, as she was working the safety line. Part way up, the Eagles began to swoop close and fly close to the surface along a single path at an angle to the one that they were following. Sorting out that the Eagles had a reason for their antics, Daring Do started to work the cart over, along the angle that the Eagles wanted them to follow. A bit over half way up the incline, and well off their original path, they came to what the Eagles were leading them to. It was a wide and level ledge with a standing stone post. Daring Do laughed and took out her sketch book. While the others rested on the safety of the ledge, she began drawing. She finished quickly. Rahak crest up with interest, pointed out, “This waymarker is quite different from the one that we found at the top, isn't it Doctor Do?” “That is right, Rahak. This one has a groove around the base for a snubbing line just like we have been doing. It allowed the Sunlords to get carts up and down the supply road safely as well as marking the road distance.” Grata took the time to lay a small fire. Daring Do nodded wisely. “An excellent idea, Grata. Our friend can use it to help keep her eggs warm.” The changeling's magic did seem to be drawing the heat of the fire into it. After a short rest, they began to work across the face of the ancient landslide, guided again by the Eagles. Grata, working with Daring Do on the hauling line while Rahak snubbed the safety line, commented, “The Eagles are very wise. This angle is far easier to maintain than the straighter path that we were following.” The Eagles led them to another of the old supply road's turnabouts. Like the other, it was flattened and once had a snubbing post, but this one was long fallen over. Grata took the time while Daring Do was making another of her many drawings to light another fire for the changeling to use to keep her eggs warm and safe. The changeling watched Daring Do's sketch develop with interest. “Why do you do these marks?” Daring Do smiled and replied, “I study things that are very old, my friend. This place is one that is old, so I make this picture and write these notes about it. That way I can study it later, too.” Daring Do was surprised when the changeling nodded happily. “I/we write too. I/we taught our nymphs to write and read.” Shaking her head sadly, she went on, “Eagles are very good nymphs but they cannot read or write.” Intrigued, Daring Do handed the changeling her note book after turning to a fresh page. “Can you write something here for me, my friend?” The changeling took the pen and wrote neatly, “Ein os air frensa a ein Daring Do.” Her characters were a perfect scribe's bookhand of the Nightmare War days. Excitedly, Daring Do showed Grata and Rahak. “Look! We never even thought to ask our friend if she was literate! She not only is, she writes a perfect Early Middle Equestrian!” Grata stared at the characters in awe. Her crest up, she pointed out, “This is just like the writing of that earliest manuscript of our Legends. The one whose author died in 54 Post Nightmare Wars. Our friend taught her nymphs to read and write. Oh, my.” Rahak, more practical, pointed out, “The Manifest Destiny Party will stop at nothing to suppress this! What we have in the cart, along with our friend, will destroy the foundation of their whole belief system.” Daring Do was leafing through a small book and chuckling. “Here is the worst part for them. Leaving out all of the Commentaries, what we have, along with our friend, ABSOLUTELY confirms the Legends themselves! “All of their garp of arguments about being First Created and even the fires of creation are in the COMMENTARIES, not the actual Legends! Those are a VERY good account of the end of the Nightmare Wars, as seen by our friend, here, and told to them later by her!” Thinking over that bombshell, they resumed their trek to the top of the pass. With the guidance of the Eagles, they made it with only one more way stop. Exhausted, they camped at the top of the pass. The next morning found them looking dumbfounded at fish from the lake laid out for all of them except Daring Do. There was a small pile of inexpertly trimmed clovers and grasses for her! The Eagles perched all about their camp watched closely to see how their gifts were being received. They need not have worried! Daring Do happily grazed up her breakfast while the Gryphons and the changeling devoured theirs with delight. The changeling took the time to thank the Eagles by encasing them in her green magic and stroking them the same way. With the slope in their favor and the path that they made on the way up, it only took them two days to reach the end of the Eagle's Vale. By the time that they did, the far ranging Eagles were bringing their changeling mother and her friends bunnies and other small game. They also found and brought Daring Do clovers, alfalfa, sorrel, or other soft grasses. Daring Do reflected that she had rarely had a more interesting set of travel companions.