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Colvin stood fir it to depart She could feel his thoughts pressing fro from his entire body He was the e to hihts at it, deether, their intent shuddered the air

All at once, the one

Relief swelled inside her chest After waiting a moment more, they fetched their weapons When they turned, they saw the ed cliff, not a dozen paces asped and clutched at Colvin’s tunic Had they continued their blind charge down theer

It also revealed an Abbey nestled in the crags below

It was an Abbey hidden in the mountains It was not the sa with a steeple towards the jagged cliffs that dwarfed it They approached from the rear, and from the mountainside Lia could see the cloister hidden in its shadoith several s the different abodes for crafts What struck her eyes i the grounds There were no learners walking between the cloister In fact, it looked overgrown The grounds were lush and thick, not trihout the expanse It looked abandoned There was, however, s from the hall of the arden, blocked off by rings of stone where vegetables and fruit trees grew It was a srounds She studied the scene, watching closely

"The ruins of Tintern Abbey This must be Tintern What do youlow next to her

"My first thought was it is abandoned like the fararden which looks as if it is tended And the smoke This does not make sense Look how the ivy has crawled on the walls Normally the servants would have cut it down Perhaps this is where Martin has taken her, a place hidden where people would not see her I want to see that garden up close before we decide what to do It does not arden here Who would be tending it if the Abbey is abandoned?"

Colvin nodded and together they stayed low and crept down the final incline, uise their approach Other than the thin plun of life ht Tintern Abbey itself was carved out of a reddish stone, and it was probably half the size of Muirwood The thick woods of the mountains provided the necessary cover and they both approached the garden froh that deer would not be able to vault it Colvin helped Lia over first and she dropped to a low crouch, watching for any sign oflow

The garden was thick with vegetables, cut into even rows and tethered by stakes and strings The earth was a rich black loam and Lia pulled a massive carrot from it that was nearly as thick as her wrist A srew along the wall, each with full ripe fruit Lia snatched one of the strawberries and bit into it The juice eet and tender, perfectly ripe She stared around, amazed, for the harvest season was over Juice dribbled down her chin and she mopped it with the back of her hand

"Look," Colvin pointed out in a low voice In the center of each wall segs carved into the stone They exuded such quiet power, she had not recognized their presence They were ancient stones, worn away by stor?" he asked her

It took a arden I reht season, there were apples growing on the tree I think the purpose of these Leerings is to preserve food"

Colvin nodded "So maybe the Abbey is truly abandoned What does the orb do? Does it point towards the er orb and held it in her hand The orb spun lazily and pointed directly at theappeared on the orb Excitement burned inside her Elloas inside She was certain of it Looking up at the sky, she noticed the sun starting its doard slope She did not relish the thought of returning to the ested "Now ht moment to free her"