I was so glad to see this new chapter! I thought maybe you had abandoned the story, and that would have been a shame.

So Arianllyn has entered the scene! I am so interested to see how you develop her character, in addition to how the plot will unfold. Your version of youthful Fflewddur is quite endearing, and I imagine Arianllyn will be the same.

This is quite a charming scene — very imaginative! I’m curious to see how Fflewddur gets out of this scrape...

You do a good job of describing the action, including enough detail to paint a vivid picture for your reader. I like the analogies you used, too (“scattered like field mice” and “appraising him like a side of beef”); they definitely strengthen the image.

One critique: it looks like this chapter could use another round of proof-reading. There was nothing major — a few typos and some misplaced or missing commas — but they are a little distracting, and your story is too good to be bogged down by that. Give it one more close reading/edit and you should be good to go...

Well blast. Despite being on my alert list, this wound up NOT alerting me at your last update for some reason. I haven’t quit reading!

You have a nice take on Taliesin here - he’s a character with so much mystery and potential! A very interesting idea regarding the trees and the construction of Caer Dathyl, too - mining the depths of the secrets stolen by Arawn is indeed a treasure trove of inspiration!

Dear Fflewddur, what trouble will he get himself into next?

Also don’t assume you don’t have readers just because of lack of reviews. They are just hard to come by. I get one per about every 60-70 readers, and even I sometimes beg shamelessly for feedback. I blame the rise of phones as people’s primary connection - back when people read at their desktops, reviews were far more frequent and fluent since everyone had a keyboard. Alas, it’s just the way of the online world.

Woo-hoo! I’ve been keeping an eye out for your next update — thank you! (No, CompanionWanderer and Adaon45 aren’t the only readers interested. Give yourself some credit for attracting followers!). Cheers to you on you work thus far. I’m looking forward to seeing where the story takes our beloved aspiring bard and his companions. :-)

I continue to love this, and really love your portrayal of Fflewddur's awkwardness and self-esteem problems. How insightful that his first thought upon viewing Carr Dathyl would be to compare it to his own kingdom, to the considerable disadvantage of the latter. Also love your evocation of Taliesin whom I also adore and have written about. P. S. Please forgive the dreadful typo in my review of chapter 1 ("year's" for "years"). I am a determined foe of Auto-correct, but still often forget to check for instances where it transforms my writing into something I'd be pained by If penned by my students. By the way, Auto-correct just tried to transform "Taliesin" into "Relies on," for Belin's sake.

You are doubtless familiar with the jocular rhetorical question: "Where have you been all my life?" Well, in my case it's at least the last 48 year's, since I first fell, hard, for Adaon as my favorite character ever and mourned his loss. I guess my Fanfiction handle is a giveaway of my feelings. Should you be at all interested, I too have contributed Adaon-themed stories-and also Fflewddur ones-on this site. But I've not depicted the friendship between them, which has always tantalizedd me as well. (I do, however, have a story about young Fflewddur and Adaon's mother.) Really enjoying what you're doing here, and thrilled you're writing this.

This is so much fun. You have some lovely descriptive phrases here - the comparison to a rooster had me laughing, and the encounter with the farmer. Your affection for this bard in all his humor and whimsy and pathos is very obvious. Interesting take on the reasoning behind his lies; believable. Beautiful lines in Taliesin’s assessment, almost poetic. Only quibble: you are, in fact, spelling his name differently than canon. (Fflewddur) Is that deliberate?

Oh, Fflewddur, my gallant bard-King, why must you be so lovable and break my heart?

It’s been a topic of some discussion and at least one fic (looking at you adaon45) that Fflewddur comes off as a bit of a lone wolf throughout the books. He doesn’t seem to have any close family (none close enough to regret leaving anyway), nor does he mention much about circles of friendship beyond the companions, though he’s an affable fellow and seems to enjoy easy comradeship with fellow men when he’s in the warrior circle, so to speak. It’s easy to forget that he has a personal life beyond his interaction with Taran and co, who seem to be his dearest friends.

So this is an interesting and full-of-possibility take on the subject of What the Bard Does when he’s not questing with an Assistant Pig-Keeper, and what other close bonds he may have formed that we don’t get to see.

Good action in this chapter, ending on a suitably low note. Will be waiting for your next very eagerly!