Thomas spent many days and nights traveling through the wilderness. His memories were becoming less and less foggy, due to the celestial feather in his possession. However, he still could not recognize the terrain.
He covered his face with a cloth, and asked some travelers for directions. Eventually he made his way to a place called Zere. It was a little village, lying among the rolling hills. The little houses were a mix of clay and hatch roofing, and in the center of the village was a giant tree, its branches overshadowing the houses below it.
Thomas felt a spark of recognition when he saw the tree, though the village surrounding it was still a mystery, and the tree itself was far larger than the one in his memories.
When he entered the village, a drop of water dripped from the sky, or rather, the branches from the tree overhead. Similar to Kirdrey’s feather, his skin started to heat up, although it was much more mild, and he could tolerate the feeling.
“Excuse me, can you tell me about Brigadoon?” He asks a passerby.
“Brigadoon? I don’t know where that is. Sorry.” They respond.
Thomas goes to the next person.
“Excuse me, do you know about a place called Brigadoon? Do you know anyone who does?”
“No, sorry, but maybe you could try talking to the priest at the church?”
Thomas nods and runs up to the church at the top of the hill, which was near the base of the giant tree. The bell was shining brilliantly, the paint was pristine.
When he enters the church, a wave of energy seems to knock him back, as if the church itself was trying to expel him from the premises. Thomas grits his teeth and resists. After a moment, the pressure lessens, and he continues into the building. Confused, he looked into his bag to see the celestial feather slightly glowing, as if it was metal hot out of the fire. He hid it away so no one would see.
“Excuse me, father. I am looking for information on a place called Brigadoon? Do you know anything?”
The priest thought carefully. “Yes! I have no records of it anymore, not since the old church unfortunately burned down a few years ago and we had to rebuild this new one, but I have heard the name of Brigadoon.”
“Really! Tell me more about it!”
“I don’t know much, but I know a person who does. You should go talk to Alanna, down in the house at the corner of the town, over there.” The priest pointed out the window.
“Thank you.” Thomas bows and leaves the church right away.
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He follows the priest’s instructions and goes to the bottom of the hill, where there are two old ladies seated on a stone bench near a stone statue and talking to each other.
Excuse me, can you point out which one is Alanna’s house? I’m looking for Alanna.” he asks.
“Why, that would be me!” the shorter of the two old women chirp. “I’m Alanna.”
“The house next to hers is mine, hehehe,” the other lady says. “I’m Petra, her best friend.”
“It is nice to meet you.” Thomas says.
“So what can I do for you?”.
“Do you know of Brigadoon?”
Alanna made an expression of curiosity. “Ah yes. My grandfather was from there.”
“Can you tell me about it? Where is it?”
“Well I can’t deny a request like that, now can I? You’ll sing along with me, won’t you, Petra?”
“The Right Knight ditty? Aye, I could sing that in my sleep.”
The old women sang.
“Giddy up, giddy up,
And away he goes!
The right knight sets off on his steed,
In search of evil he rides.
If he can defeat the terrible witch,
He’ll be home to wed his bride.
The town is full of laughter,
Preparing a feast fit for a queen,
Oh, but then disaster!
The Right Knight’s nowhere to be seen!
Bird, north, Brigadoon on,
Tell her that her knight is gone.
Fog, south, refugee on,
Tell him that Brigadoon’s gone.”
“I used to look after princess Mona. This was the nursery rhyme I used to sing to her when she was small.”
Thomas wonders at the rhyme. “What does it mean?”
The two women look at him in astonishment. The large man in black armor, a picture of impregnable strength and reliability, is trembling before them.
Alanna reaches out a hand. “You are not of this time, are you, Right Knight, Thomas?”
Thomas looked up in shock, his eyes meeting the woman’s. She lifted the veils covering his face. Petra recoiled, but Alanna’s expression was of sympathy.
“You are not afraid of my appearance?”
“Not at all. It is similar to my Father’s face. He would have called you an uncle.”
“Uncle? As in, the son of one of my sister’s? So that means you are a descendant of my family?”
“Yes.”
“I am glad my family has survived, though I still do not know what happened. Tell me what has become of Brigadoon.”
“You will not like what you hear, but you deserve to know. Only ruins are left, North of here, laying inside the poison fog that drives men away. Those who go there disappear. It has been like this for two centuries.”
“What of the princess?”
“The royal family tried to escape along with the people, but many became lost in the mist and did not make it out. It is still there and continues to snare people, which is why most people do not know of Brigdoon anymore. It simply vanished from the map.”
“I see… Thank you for telling me… I must go.”
Alanna pulls him into an embrace. “Why must you go? You already know that nothing is left. The mists may trap you.”
“I must see for myself.”