A Mythical Irish Tale--And the Quest to Get Back Home by Declan Michael

Author:Declan Michael
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Historical Irish fantasy fairy tales and monsters, Irish Mythology and folklore and literary fiction, Irish fantasy fiction action and adventure, Ancient Irish tales and heroes Fionn Mac Cumhaill, historical fiction and romance for young adults
Publisher: Declan Michael
Published: 2023-03-20T00:00:00+00:00

The Well Of Endurance

Through the darkened caves, they marched. In the darkness, they listened to the bundle of noises they could only guess at. There was the patter of a rabbit and perhaps the scurrying of a hare. A bush rustled, but that brief rustle was probably a bat hunting some food while hiding in the shadows. There was the usual howling of a wolf and the sound of scratching and scraping against the bark of a tree.

Yet onwards, the group walked further into the vastness of the cave. The cave was so vast that inside it was a forest whose trees got sunlight from large holes in its roof. There was a mountain and even a dark, what seemed like a bottomless lake. There were also prominent ridges and boulders to get past before they could reach the abyss and pool of endurance.

As they drove further into the cave, Darragh and Shane walked to one side of the mountain while Fergal and Cred chose the other side. Darragh spotted a doorway in the mountainside covered by holly. They approached it and inside, could see three women. Who, through the holly, looked like angels. They pushed through the holly, calling out to the women.

As soon as they walked through the holly, they fell to their knees, powerless and without strength, as the three women were actually old hags. Their hair was black and straw-like. Their eyes were bloodshot red, and their mouths were full of curved yellow fangs. They had long scraggy necks that could turn round like a chicken’s neck, while their arms were long and skinny, with long claw-like hands.

They had cast a spell on the holly, which had poisoned Darragh and Shane, rendering their bodies lifeless. “What’s the matter with us?” asked a nervous Shane as he tumbled to the ground. “I don’t know,” said Darragh as he fell beside him. The three old hags tied them up with some ropes. “We’ll dine tonight,” roared one hag, while another said there could yet be more to follow as they carried their prey further into the cave.

Luckily Fergal and Cred had changed direction to follow the others and had happened upon the unfolding events. They sneaked up to the hanging Holly. Within the cave, there was silence except for the voices of the hags planning what to do next. Luckily, they were busy and not too bright. Cred cut down the hanging holly with a long spear she carried with her without being noticed.

The three hags took their swords in their hands and prepared to slay Darragh and Shane. Before doing so, two of them had one more look out the door of the cave. Not noticing the missing holly, they peered out to see if any stragglers were coming. Cred stood back into the shadows while Fergal took a step back.

“We slaughter that one first,” said one hag as she spied Fergal. She then moved forward in his direction. Fergal rubbed his ring before disappearing in front of her.

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