Withstanding Trials: Day 15

Word Count: 90,681

Summary of Events:

Aodhán accompanied Conchobhar in the checking of his rabbit snares, finding one that had been sprung by an unsuspecting deer who, because its mouth got caught, was able to escape. Saraid talked with one of Conchobhar's daughters about Aodhán, whom the whole family quite liked. Aodhán rose before dawn to harvest some branches from a bush whose wood made the best arrows, as he wanted to make some arrows of his own. He and Conchobhar checked some more snares later that morning, as well as spying a mother deer and her fawn, whose tracks they followed down a steep slope until Conchobhar slipped and fell on the slick leaves, disappearing over a drop as Aodhán pursued him carefully…

Excerpt of the Day:

Aodhán slipped to a knee in his acceleration, but managed to keep from sliding down the slope, which ended abruptly where a line of trees stretching for several metres in both directions had dropped about a metre or so, leaving exposed soil, clay, roots, and stone in a short, craggy cliff face.

Conchobhar was laying on the ground with a grimace on his face. Aodhán managed to hop over the ledge and Conchobhar’s form. The soil felt particularly soft beneath his feet, and dampness seeped immediately into his knees when he knelt down.

“Are you alright?” Aodhán asked.

“I just feel stupid,” Conchobhar replied. “Even if I’m short an arm, I still have all the rest of my limbs, and I should’ve known a leafy slope could make a man look like a fool in a matter of seconds.”

“Will you be able to get back up?” Aodhán asked.

Conchobhar pulled himself up with only the muscles of his torso before placing his right hand on the ground to support himself with a sigh.

“It’ll probably be better if you follow behind me to catch me if I lose my footing or my balance,” Conchobhar replied. “But I should be fine.”

Aodhán nodded. “So long as you’re alright.”

“I’m quite fine,” Conchobhar replied.

Lifting his knees off the soft ground, Aodhán helped Conchobhar to his feet and felt suddenly uneasy.

“Did you feel it shift?” Conchobhar asked.

Aodhán nodded.

Conchobhar looked toward the water. “This north shore is mostly cliff, we’d best get back up onto what’s still holding.”

Nodding again, Aodhán leaned forward and grasped a tree that looked to have a fifteen-centimetre diameter, which was growing above where the soil had already dropped, while he waited for Conchobhar to get up onto the higher level before following after as calmly as he could.

They picked their way back up the steep slope several metres before Aodhán heard a rushing behind him and looked over his shoulder to see the trunks of the trees that had been in the lower soil drop rapidly.

“It’s gone,” Aodhán said.

“Hopefully it’ll take another twenty years before the waves take another section,” Conchobhar said, continuing to forge ahead. “Even if it only makes this place smaller.”

“Is erosion a bad problem?” Aodhán asked.

“On the north coast here, yes, but that’s partially because the north coast is so steep, the south coast is far more gradual and gentle,” Conchobhar replied.

Aodhán nodded, feeling a lot better once they started ascending the tree trunk, but best when they reached the trail again.

“How much do you think is at risk of washing away?” Aodhán asked.

“Mostly just the soil,” Conchobhar replied. “The stone’s been here for thousands of years, and it doesn’t erode as quickly, so there’s no concerns here. It just means that someday this is going to be a cliffside trail, not a tree-flanked one, but that’s not even guaranteed to happen in my lifetime, there’s a lot of soil still there.”