IN THE GLENGOWLA MINE

In the evening, after the Lycana and their helpers had set out again, Alisa went in search of Ivy. She had successfully avoided giving an explanation in the morning, but now she would have to address the outrageous incident! Alisa left the tower and searched the castle for her.

"She's avoiding us," Luciano said, when she encountered him for the second time without finding Ivy.

"Strictly speaking, she's not," Franz Leopold corrected, "she's just standing there, staring into space - and it's such an exposed spot that you can hardly call it hiding!"

"What?" Alisa and Luciano spun around to see what Franz Leopold meant.

"You'll have to look a little higher," he said.

Alisa tilted her head back and let out a scream when she spotted Ivy's figure. "What on earth is she doing up there?"

"She looks like a big silver bird about to take flight," remarked Luciano, who had followed her gaze. The two looked at each other in horror.

"She couldn't, could she?" Luciano added uncertainly.

"I wouldn't be so sure!" Franz Leopold cursed and ran off. Alisa and Luciano followed him.

Ivy had been the first to rise from her bed that evening. She hurried up the stairs to the battlements and then climbed onto the ridge of the hipped roof, where Seymour couldn't follow her. He lay down grumpily, but kept his eyes on her.

Ivy rested her chin in her hands and looked out over the Lough, which stretched in a shimmering band to the north and south as far as the eye could see. Somewhere over there, the werewolves had come ashore with their treasure, but where? And what was their goal? They surely didn't intend to wander over land like nomads with the valuable stone forever. No, they had a hiding place in mind that seemed safe to them, but as much as Ivy racked her brain, she couldn't think of anything that would exert a special attraction on the werewolves.

"They can go anywhere!" she sighed. Something unpleasantly nagged at her mind at this thought. There was something that was immensely important. But as soon as she tried to grasp the thought, it vanished.

"They can go anywhere!" she repeated. There was something wrong with this sentence. But why? And where did this doubt, which was becoming more and more certain, come from? She heard a voice that she had heard once before. It sounded a little shaky, weak, and indistinct.

Suddenly she saw him before her. Ivy jumped up and stood upright on the ridge. That was it! What if this sentence had not just been uttered by a senile old man? What if he knew exactly what he was talking about? It was pointless to ask that now. She had let the opportunity pass unused. Now it was too late to ask the question.

Or was it?

A plan began to form in her mind. She looked down at Seymour, who never took his eyes off her.

No, my friend, I won't share this thought with you, for you wouldn't like it!

Franz Leopold was the first to reach the end of the spiral staircase and rushed out onto the battlements. In his mind, he was already up on the ridge with Ivy, whose legs were no longer visible in the swirling mist, but he hadn't counted on Seymour. With an angry growl, Seymour charged at the Dracas and snapped at his pants. Alisa ran past the two and leaped onto the ridge with two graceful jumps. She had so much momentum that for a moment Franz Leopold thought she would lose her balance and fall off the other side. However, she caught herself and grabbed Ivy's arm.

"Don't do this!" The spiral of mist collapsed.

"Let me go! It's none of your business. It's very important. - Seymour! Let go of Leo's pants immediately! I must wonder about you very much. You should be ashamed! Such childish behavior is beneath you."

The wolf obeyed, but still looked dangerous with his raised lips. Franz Leopold followed Alisa up onto the roof, and Luciano climbed cautiously after them.

"Convince us!" Franz Leopold suggested.

"What?"

He lowered his voice. "Explain to us why this matter is so important that you're willing to risk your life without your protector and your friends. And why we should allow it."

"And don't come up with any excuses that you won't be in danger," Luciano added unusually passionately. "You're the one who keeps harping on about the enemies supposedly lurking out there waiting for us!"

"We are friends, aren't we? Or were those just empty words?" Alisa looked at Ivy intently.

She blinked. "No, we are friends, and that means more to me than you can imagine."

"Friends don't keep secrets from each other," said Luciano.

"And they don't throw themselves into some crazy schemes alone!" Franz Leopold affirmed.

"Something important came to mind, and I need to make sure," Ivy said. The friends looked at her expectantly. Ivy sighed, then began to speak in a soft voice.

"You already know that Tara and I were on our way to the Twelve Bens, to the caves where the oldest werewolf pack dwelled - for centuries - and that we arrived too late to see the cloch adhair."

The others nodded.

"The werewolves took a boat to erase their tracks, and I feared they could have taken the stone anywhere. Where should we start the search?"

"You feared? Then you don't believe it anymore?" Alisa interrupted.

"Yes, I have new hope, which I need to confirm, but for this, it is imperative to return to the Twelve Bens again, and quickly!"

"And you thought you'd transform into a bat or a falcon and fly there briefly," Franz Leopold said casually.

"Yes! We met someone there, an old werewolf who stayed behind, and I need to ask him an important question."

"Alright, then we will accompany you," said Alisa, rising.

Ivy shook her head. "That won't work. Even if we were to travel as wolves, it would take too long for the round trip. We can't risk being caught in the moor by the sun. That's why I have to leave Seymour behind. As a falcon, I'll be back in a few hours."

"We won't let you go alone," Franz Leopold said stubbornly. "Then we'll fly with you!"

"How do you imagine that? You're not yet ready to perform such a transformation," Ivy replied.

"Then teach us!" Franz Leopold demanded.

"That's not possible!" Ivy exclaimed, but then her expression became thoughtful.

"What is it?"

"There might be a way. But we'd have to walk a bit first - and we'd have to make sure Seymour doesn't follow us."

"How do we do that?" Alisa asked doubtfully. "He's hardly going to be reasonable enough to stay here voluntarily."

Ivy shook her head. "No, I wouldn't count on that. He's too fixated on his task of protecting me."

"That's an understatement," grumbled Franz Leopold, examining the tear in his pants.

They brooded silently for a few minutes, then Luciano let out a soft cry. "I have an idea!"

"Well, this should be interesting," Franz Leopold retorted.

"Let's hear it," Alisa urged.

Luciano lowered his voice to a whisper, so they had to huddle close together to understand his words.

"That could work," Ivy said slowly.

"He'll be beside himself!" Alisa predicted.

Ivy nodded. "Yes, he will be. Either way, no matter how we do it. But it must be done. He'll calm down again when we return unharmed and with the crucial news."

The big day had arrived. Nellie trembled with excitement, and it was hard for her to keep the reins steady. She could hardly believe her luck. She didn't know why she had managed to persuade her father to take her on this raid, but that wasn't important. What mattered was that she was riding her Connemara pony and heading to Galway with the men.

Perhaps he had become so uneasy at the thought of what she could do if he left her alone for two days that he preferred to keep an eye on her. However, Myles had made his daughter swear that she would stay with Cowan at the outpost while he and the others retrieved the weapons, and that she would obey him in everything. Since it wouldn't be Mac Gaoth who had to keep watch, Nellie had no problem with this instruction. Cowan, however, sulked silently. It wasn't enough for him to accompany the men to the camp. He wanted to pitch in and be at the forefront. But her father remained firm.

Mac Gaoth emerged from the darkness silently as a shadow. The horses neighed and backed away. Nellie had trouble calming her pony, although it was usually a very gentle and reliable animal. But something about Mac Gaoth unsettled the animals. He hadn't even tried to mount one of them, even though Lorcan would have provided him with a strong horse. Nellie had never seen the ponies react like this to a person. Panic gleamed in their eyes when he approached within ten steps. Nellie leaned over her pony's neck and stroked its shaggy coat.

"You're just smarter than us humans," she said softly. "You can sense that something's not right with him. Even I can feel it. When I close my eyes, I don't see a human, but a wild beast!"

She shuddered and looked up. Mac Gaoth had finished his brief conversation with Myles and now stood tall beside the path, his strangely yellowish eyes fixed on Nellie. Had he heard her words? That was impossible. No human could have such keen hearing. Then he turned away and disappeared into the darkness to scout the way. The train of ponies continued southward. Most of them still carried only the empty sails and a few ropes with which the men would pack the weapons. Carts to transport the loot were out of the question. They would have had to stay on the wide roads and would have been easy to find by any pursuers. The ponies, however, could climb into the mountains and cross the treacherous moors where the English patrols would not dare to venture. And then? What came next after they had seized the weapons and shaken off their pursuers? They would wait until the other groups were ready, and then they would all strike together. Strike, rise up, free themselves. How harmless those words sounded, but with weapons in hand, they would not only threaten. They would kill if necessary, and Nellie was not so naive as to believe that the English would simply peacefully leave the country. The English? Weren't they all English now? Officially yes. There had been only one joint English and Irish kingdom for almost eighty years, and yet they were and remained Irish, and the others, the opponents and conquerors, English. Nellie imagined Lorcan and Fynn with rifles in their hands, and Karen too. Yes, Karen wouldn't hesitate to shoot a person. And her father? And Cowan? Would they be forced to kill tonight already to get to the weapons? And what about herself? She had begged to be allowed to join, to be part of the conspiracy and to be taken seriously. She had claimed to be an adult. The feeling of adventure had put her in a state of tense excitement. The nightly meetings, the plotting, she had enjoyed it. But now, as the lights of Galway appeared before them, she wished for the first time that she were still a child and knew nothing of the danger, dreaming instead of childish dreams, protected by a loving mother.

It had been surprisingly easy to lure Seymour into the hidden dungeon - at least after Ivy had descended there. At the last moment, the wolf hesitated, but Franz Leopold gave him a push, causing him to slip down the stone ramp. Ivy caught him. "I'm so sorry. Be quiet and wait for us." Seymour had already smelled a rat and grabbed her robe, but she didn't let him stop her. She dissolved into mist and slipped through his claws. As a bat, she fluttered up the shaft. Seymour howled. Quickly, the friends sealed off the entrance. The howling died down. The O'Flahertys had done a thorough job. After all, they surely didn't want to be constantly disturbed by the pleading cries of those languishing in the dungeon! Ivy turned away, her face contorted with pain. "What's wrong?" Luciano asked, puzzled. Alisa put her arm around Ivy's shoulder. "It's just this one time, because we have no other choice. He'll understand and forgive you!" "Hopefully!" Ivy replied miserably. Franz Leopold urged them to get going and ran down the stairs ahead of them. "Come on! There's time for your sentimentalities when we're back!" When they reached the bottom, he slowed his pace. In the courtyard, the other heirs were in small groups, and Mabbina sat on the parapet of the small tower, scanning the area. They strolled inconspicuously to the gate, slipped through, and crossed the drawbridge. Only when they had left the river behind did they start running. "Quick now, so they don't catch up with us, even if they'll surely realize soon and start chasing us," Franz Leopold called out, staying by Ivy's side. Alisa ran behind Luciano, urging him on. "How far do we have to go?" he panted. "Just a bit past Oughterard," Ivy informed him. Luciano said nothing and instead focused on running. Surprisingly quickly, they reached their destination. The three of them came to a halt next to Ivy and looked around. "Aren't you going to tell us your plan?" Franz Leopold scanned the piles of stones, the poor huts, and the strange wooden structures over the holes in the ground. "Is this the iron mine you told us about?" Alisa asked. "Isn't it fascinating? Look over there. They use the power of the horses, which they let walk in circles here, to pull the rope over the pulley there and lift the heavy baskets up with it." Alisa stepped up to the shaft and peered into the depths. Luciano rolled his eyes. "I'm much more interested in why we're here and how this is going to solve our problem that we can't transform into falcons or other flying creatures." Ivy opened her mouth, but Alisa was quicker. "It's the marble they're mining, isn't it? Its powers are even stronger down there!"

Ivy nodded. "Yes, we will enter right into it and let its energy envelop us."

"And then we'll transform into falcons!" exclaimed Franz Leopold excitedly.

"Yes, it will work. We had no trouble taking on the form of wolves in the moor above," added Ivy.

Luciano remained silent, but his thoughts were clear to Franz Leopold as if they were written on his forehead. He was afraid that despite the power of the earth, he wouldn't be able to do it. Ivy also sensed his fears and reassuringly placed her hand on his arm.

"Yes, that's right. The soul of Connemara will give us the strength for the transformation. Even you, Luciano! I'll help you with it, so don't worry. We won't leave anyone behind," Ivy assured him.

"Then let's get going!" Alisa descended the wooden ladder into the shaft. The others followed her. Obviously, not all of the marble was uniformly penetrated by the valuable ores for humans. The tunnels followed the course of the metal-bearing layer, which steeply descended into the depths, requiring people to work from small wooden platforms or ladders. Alisa examined the drills and heavy hammers with long handles that people used to bore holes for the explosives in the rock.

"Surely not an easy job," she said, weighing the tools in her hands. "Look at the effort they make for a little ore!"

"Who cares?" said Luciano. "Do we need to go deeper?"

Ivy nodded. "Yes, we go all the way down until we find a spot where the rock is still intact and not hollowed out."

They skillfully jumped from platform to platform or slid down the ladders until they reached the bottom of the mine. Along the edges of natural crevices, colorful minerals sprouted in their typical cubic or polygonal shapes. Some were clear, yellowish, purple, or brown, while others gleamed with a metallic luster in silver or gold.

"Is that real gold?" Luciano asked, running his hand over the jagged cubes in the wall.

"No, the miners call it fool's gold. It's made of iron and sulfur. Not as valuable as the other ores," Ivy informed him.

"Can we finally start or are we wasting another hour with mining lessons?" Franz Leopold reminded them why they were here. They took each other's hands and looked at each other. Now it was time to harness the energy currents of the rock properly.

"Are we going to fly as falcons?" asked Alisa. "They're the fastest."

"No," Ivy objected. "We don't want to make it any harder. Let's stick to mammals. They're closer to us, even if they can fly."

"Then bats it is!" Franz Leopold concluded. "Are we fast enough in this form?"

"It will suffice," reassured Ivy. "And now let's begin. Close your eyes and focus. I'll help you if necessary. When we're done, follow me directly. Resist the temptation to test your new body, and don't be tempted by the unfamiliar senses. You can indulge in them later when we have time, peace, and security."

The three nodded and obediently closed their eyes.

"The energy currents down here are incredible," murmured Alisa, then the cold mists enveloped them, and they felt their human language slipping away. But what did they gain in return! It was one thing to use the ecosystem of bats, but being able to fly themselves and experience the interplay of senses was something else entirely. Ivy had done well to warn them because even Franz Leopold found it difficult not to lose sight of the goal and follow Ivy, who was already heading directly towards the surface. Three bats fluttered behind her. High above the night moor, they flew along the narrow lakes, which curved in a bow first to the northwest and then further to the west. In the south, the endless gray-brown bogs stretched out, only interrupted by low hills, while to the north rose the mountains of Teernakill, merging into the Maumturk Mountains. A broad valley, also with a chain of lakes at its bottom, flowed in from the north, and then the Twelve Bens loomed before them with their rugged granite peaks. Ivy followed a stream that first gently, then increasingly steeply, ascended. The mountain slopes converged until they united in a basin and merged into a sharp ridge. Ivy veered left. Below them, Franz Leopold could make out a strange group of stones. Was that a megalithic tomb? Perhaps. As Ivy descended deeper, he spotted a dark cleft in the rock, which must be the entrance to the cave. They flew directly towards the cliff wall and then slipped into the crevice, which seemed enormous from their perspective but provided just enough room for a human-shaped being. Ivy didn't hesitate. She flew purposefully through the passages, deeper into the heart of the mountain. While the walls had been made of gray granite at first, now veins of white marble and dark ore once again ran through the surrounding rock of the passages. Ivy landed on the ground and transformed back into her normal form.

"We're almost there. Stay in your bat form. It will cost you too much energy if you have to transform twice more tonight. I shouldn't have brought you here. Only Tara, Seymour, and I are allowed to come up here beside the members of the werewolf clan. If Cameron and Taber hadn't accompanied you to Aughnanure on the night of the new moon, we would have had to leave them behind even at the dolmen. But now, behave quietly. When we're in the cave, fly up to the ceiling and wait until I call you," she instructed the friends.

Finally, the goal seemed to be reached: a large, dome-like cave with walls that appeared to be smoothly polished. In the center, they saw a large stone pedestal. Franz Leopold wasn't surprised that it was empty. The three found a suitable spot and then hung upside down on a stone ledge next to each other, giving them a good view of the cave.

Ivy approached one of the branching passages and peered inside. Should she call out to him? Then, from the other side, came the voice of the old werewolf, almost toothless, whose name she couldn't remember.

"You've returned. Well, well, it's not the stone and not the clan either. But you probably know that, don't you? Where are Seymour and the druid?" He looked around searchingly.

Ivy went up to him and placed her hand on her chest in greeting. "Tara and Seymour didn't come with me. And I'm only here because I want to ask you a question."

"You came alone?" His age-clouded eyes wandered. "That's quite - yes, brave of you."

It seemed to Ivy that he wanted to say something else, but she didn't let herself be distracted.

"When Tara and I were here a few nights ago, I said: The clan could go anywhere, and maybe it will take decades or centuries to track down the stone again! And then you replied: Anywhere with the cloch adhair? No! You said I was talking nonsense. At first, I thought you were referring to the fact that werewolves can't transform into bats or birds and can't fly like we can, but tonight I understood. You meant something else, didn't you?"

"And what if I did? Why do you care what I thought or meant? I am an old werewolf, closer to death than to life. A werewolf without his clan can only retreat and await death."

"Fine, if you're going to evade my question like that, then I have to ask more directly: What do you know about the cloch adhair? Why can't it be taken anywhere?"

"Perhaps it could be," the old man said hesitantly.

Ivy had to restrain herself from grabbing him and shaking him. "But?" she pressed.

"It wouldn't like it," he said.

Ivy stared at him in astonishment. "The stone?"

"Yes, indeed! It's not just any stone, it's the cloch adhair, the heart of Connemara. It would resist. I don't know if it could be broken if one tried to carry it further away, but it would be sentenced to death. It can only gather the earth's energies and store the energy currents within itself here. In another place, even in another country, it would be just a stone. A piece of beautiful marble in the shape of the Irish island."

Ivy stroked the bracelet that had once been connected to the cloch adhair. "So it's like with the bracelet. It loses its powers."

"Yes, and thus its value."

Ivy looked sharply at the werewolf. "How far can they take it from here before they feel its resistance and harm its powers?"

The werewolf grinned his toothless smile. "You're quite a clever girl. You tell me!"

Ivy thought for a moment, then said confidently, "As far as the band of Connemara marble reaches!"

The werewolf nodded. "Yes, the band must not be torn."

Ivy bowed. "Thank you for your information. Now we know where to look."

"If you find it, what will you do with it?" He suddenly sounded plaintive. "It belongs here, in the Beanna Beola!"

"It wasn't the Lycana who removed it from here, even though our pact states otherwise!" Ivy retorted coolly.

The old man hung his head. "No, that guilt lies with us, and Áthair Faolchu couldn't prevent it."

Ivy bid him farewell. "Time is of the essence. I hope we can renew the pact without another era of suffering and bloodshed dividing our peoples for centuries." She walked away without looking back.

Three bats detached from the ceiling and inconspicuously followed her. Only when they couldn't be seen from the large cave anymore did Ivy transform again and lead her friends back into the valley and eastward to Aughnanure Castle.