A Tinkerer's Aspect II(Continued from A Tinkerer's Aspect) Ryley nods at Brigid's statement. "Well I'm hoping that the changes that occur that you're speaking of are beneficial to me and my new companions at war as well. I will be mindful of the gifts that you have given me, physical and inborn, as I move on from here. The advice of some practicality in the whole upcoming struggle is useful as well. I suppose that I should be getting back my work at the Green Eyed Girl though its hard to go at the same time. Thank you goddess and thank you mother. And truly thank you for making my world larger than it was." "Return to your task, your creation." Brigid smiles slightly. "It would not do to leave it unfinished, even if there is no geas for you to do so. The War comes closer, and your path toward it has begun, Ryley. You, and your fellow Scions will hear from me, from us, soon. And beware the marks and works of the Titanspawn, now that you will now them for what they are." She rises from the table and embraces Ryley as Aenghus looks on, silently. "Be safe." Ryley embraces Brigid as well, giving her a long hug while he has the opportunity. "I will, mother. Thank you for everything." Ryley pauses with emotion. "I'll keep my eyes open for any of the works of the Spawn and look forward to seeing you again though I know it means the War will be approaching." He releases Brigid and walks over to Aenghus and with a slight bow says, "Thank you my lord for arranging this meeting. I appreciate your hospitality and kindness. I'll be heading back now to finish the work with Kyle. I'll do everything I can to make sure your happy with the end results of the place." Ryley shrugs into his jacket, making sure he has his new 'cane.' He gives Brigid one last squeeze and walks out to get on his bike. He secures the cane to the back of his bike and heads out of Sedona with a smile on his lips. And with no further ado and with no other entanglements, Ryley is back on the road, heading away from Sedona, and back to more familiar territory. The drive back to Phoenix is without incident or anything of note. It takes a day before Kyle O'Bannon, returning from some errand of his own, summons Ryley to his office. Pouring two glasses of whiskey, he pushes one in Ryley's direction. "So, I've been dying of curiosity ever since you left," he says. "About what transpired in Sedona. If ye tell me, Mr. Coyne, that you're geased not to say, I'll accept that and let you get back to work." Ryley takes the whiskey, raising the glass to Kyle slightly before taking a drink. He has his cane with him from his trip. "Well, lucky for both of us neither of the Folk that I met geased me against talking about anything. I met Aenghus and his cousin Brigid. It turns out that he was right, Brigid is a relative of mine." He pauses. "It turns out she is my mother. We talked about a lot and it was one of those conversations that makes you realize that the world is a much bigger place than you think it might be. "I'm gonna press on and get it all out and then let you ask questions you want. Though I have to say I'm not sure I know little more than what Brigid told me but I guess I'm taking it as truth. The long and short of it my friend is the old gods seem to be abroad in the world, at least from time to time and so are their old predecessors who would like the world back. She said that just knowing that makes you aware that they are around. I'm not sure if that goes both ways but I wanted to be sure you knew about it since I'll be here for a while finishing your bar and then I'll have to be on my way. "Oh, and she gave me this." Ryley turns the cane into a spear long enough for Kyle to get a good look at it, and then turns it back into a cane. "That's the Celtic way, Ryley," Kyle grins. "Love fiercely, hate fiercer, form friendships and enemies that last a lifetime, sometimes longer than a lifetime, if the stories can be held to be true. Hells, you are proof that the stories are true, some of them anyway. "You walk the road you have to walk down, Ryley. Don't let anyone tell you different. Probably these Titans wouldn't let any of us walk down the roads we have to walk, if they had their way. No wonder you and your kin has to stop them. "Now, perhaps if we get you back to the lore of wood and nails, you can find some peace in work before you go a questing, huh?" Kyle finishes. Ryley laughs a little. "All this time I have rather wondered why I feel like I don't know what I'm doing or how I'm living. You have the right of it though Kyle, I'm living the Celtic way with little coaching and just fumbling through it. This meeting with Aenghus and Brigid has sort of me put me into some strange half focus where I can feel things getting clearer for me. It might be arrogant of me but I'm glad that some of the magic is left in the world and it found me because I want to be part of the stories." Kyle nods enthusiastically. "You're right though with my head ringing from the meeting and all of the little bits of old legends and bits of Irish lore swimming in my head some good honest work that I'm proficient with sounds good too. I like the plans that we have and some good common work should settle me in a bit. All my tools are ready and we have most of what we need to get the ball rolling." "Then I am not going to slow you down any further, and let you get back to it," Kyle says. "I hired you and your company for a job, and all the stuff with your Otherworldly nature is just gravy. I'm looking for a real Irish pub in this desert far away from the green, and who better than to make it happen than the son of the Goddess of creativity and inspiration?" Ryley nods. "Well with my Mother's blessing fresh upon me I'll do the best I can to bring some of the green of Ireland to Arizona for you." "It's a deal," Kyle says. "A patch of green in the midst of the painted desert." Ryley throws himself into his work at the Green Eyed Girl. He suggests leaving the name as is, on the reasoning that its commonness won't detract from customers' transportation into an authentic Irish Pub as they cross the threshold. He uses the example of Shaw's, where he got the dartboard from - a simple name for a nearly archetypal good-time rollicking Irish pub. A simple name to remember for quality good times. Ryley gets a few weeks to work on the Green Eyed Girl in relative peace. Days working on the bar, bringing it to life, are punctuated by the occasional day off when he can explore the highways and roadways around Phoenix with his motorcycle, as the weather slowly warms. By summer, Ryley is sure it will be hotter than any Hell he has heard of. For the moment, however, it is tolerable, and certainly more clement than the weather back in Ireland. Ryley is sure to be frustrated by the heat and has some trouble adjusting to it until while he is doing some task, probably soldering some old pipe, he thinks that maybe the heat of Phoenix is meant to temper him as he moves forward into things with these Titans. The place is called Phoenix after all, right? His earlier thought of it being 'hot as hell' vanishes into thoughts of the forge fire. Hot, to be sure, but transforming and tempering, not punishment and doom. There are a few calls now and again from his employers. The questions are general, asking about his progress, checking on his needs and the client's happiness. As far as the latter, Kyle has been pleased when Ryley has seen him. For the most part, he has been very hands-off on the project, although various clues tell Ryley that Kyle has been doing walk-throughs of the place at night, after it's all locked up. When it come to calls with his employers, he says that work is going along well enough despite adjusting to the heat. Ryley is careful to explain what he is doing and that he's had no troubles with the client to be sure. In fact he's been a pretty fine patron in general of course. "I don't want to say too much more kind about him, but for the swelling of his head," Ryley will say with a grin to his boss back in Ireland. Ryley is happy to see Kyle is interested in things and that he taking a look at things. He doesn't talk much specifically about what he is doing or what he is working on unless there are specific questions from Kyle. Ryley is often thinking about old Irish tale and legends and tales as he works on the place, trying to capture some of that feel as well as all of the good pub experiences he has had. This leads to books on Ireland and Celtic myth and culture stacked up here and there as Ryley uses them for inspiration. Ryley also works in symbols consistent with Aenghus on some of the decor too. Appropriate to a silent but possibly influential business partner. One night as the project nears Ryley's sense of completion, he has a dream. In the dream, a car approaches, from the north and west. Two figures are in the car, a man, and a red-haired woman driving. Somehow, Ryley knows that the driver is a Scion, like himself. And she approaches. The dream gives Ryley a bit of a start and puts all manner of thoughts in his head. Is there danger? Are they being chased? Are they on some mission? Are the man and woman related in appearance? Then the amusing thought, "Well she can't be a sister because I'm sure Mom would have mentioned that." Ryley doesn't get the sense of pursuit, but definitely there have been obstacles in their path. Someone, something, has been trying to keep them from arriving at their destination. During lunch the next day Ryley comments, "I must be comin' near to be being done with the place and our project, Kyle. I had a dream last night about a fire-haired woman arriving from the west and the north, with a man, in a car. The woman, sure enough was like me, in the dream. Meaning that she has parents like I do. I didn't have a particular feel about the dream one way or the other for their intent but I thought that I should mention it just the same." "It looks like the place is about done, thankfully," Kyle says, biting into his Reuben. "If they are here to take you away, they won't be taking you away from a half-done job. You've done good these last few weeks, lad, like ya said you would." As evening falls, Ryley doesn't exactly have a waking dream, but he gets a feeling, a tingle, a trickle in his brain. The mysterious red haired woman and the man with her are no longer approaching Phoenix and Ryley. They're here. Now. Ryley nods to Kyle and takes a gulp of some beer to wash down some of his own food. "Well it makes me proud enough that you're happy with the place. I think with the changes and some advertising the place will take right off." Ryley shakes his head as to clear it and realizes that the feeling isn't going to go away, "They're here, Kyle, now. Let's handle the matter with some care, though. If the woman is like me I'm going to bet she is a bit twitchy herself. From what my mother said it's unlikely that she has grown up in her parent's love and care and recently I'll wager she's had a bit of a shock. The fella that she was with was a big brute of a man besides. Let's not bust up the place. So new as it is." Ryley turns to look at the door. "I see," Kyle says, turning to look at the door in turn. If anything, he is more nervous than Ryley is. (Continued in Passing the Bar) |
