Triallaire

Into the Stones

November, 2165

Edinburgh, Scotland

MAEVIS POV

Maevis was carefully looking over the timeline that they had carefully crafted, informing Tom of it when he had come around inquiring about what they had learned. "1766, you think she's gone to," Tom said as he looked at the timeline. "But if there's a difference of five years, it won't still be 1766, will it?"

"No, it'll be 1770," Maevis replied. "We don't even know for sure where they were in 1770. We only guessed that they're in North Carolina."

"Funny ye should mention that," said Rory suddenly, having entered through the front door of Maidie's flat. "I had te have this specially ordered, but it was a book I found on Scottish settlers and estates in North Carolina from 1750 to 1800."

"Is it? That's oddly specific. What did you find?" Maevis asked him, eager to hear this piece of information. Rory made his way to the table and pulled the book out of his satchel, opening it up to a bookmarked page.

"'Mount Helicon, now known as Grandfather Mountain, was settled in the 1740s and 1750s by Highland Scots following the failed Jacobite Uprising ending in 1746 that exiled many of them. One nearby settlement called Fraser's Ridge provides yet another example of a Scottish name in the surrounding area,'" Rory read, and Maevis's eyes widened as she made the connection.

"Fraser's Ridge... That has to be the Ridge. It's in North Carolina, yeah?" Maevis asked him, and he nodded.

"Aye, in the Blue Ridge mountains," said Rory, watching as Maevis went back to the timeline.

"Is there any information in there about when it might have been settled?" she asked him.

"Er... no... This was all about Fraser's Ridge that was mentioned in the entire book. I've read it through three times to make sure of it," Rory told her, and Maevis huffed.

"Damn it..." she said.

"I can look more in detail. I have access to all sorts of records," Tom chimed in. "You said it was called Fraser's Ridge and that they lived there in the 1770s?"

"Aye, that we know fer certain," said Rory as Tom made note of it in his phone.

"I'll have a look through the records and see what I can come up with," Tom said to them.

"And I'll let Elton know that we've found something," Maevis replied.

It took Tom about a week to come up with some information, which he then presented to Maevis, Elton, Rory, Morgan and Maidie together. "I've found a deed for the land," he said, and then cleared his throat as he read the document. "'In the interest of bringing...' Well, I'm not sure what this word says. 'Forage? Forase'?"

"Let me see?" Elton asked, taking a look at the document and shaking his head. "I've no idea wha' that says."

"Oh well, it's not important," said Tom, continuing on. "'In the interest of bringing... agriculture to a Province still lying in a state of Nature, and in Encouraging Settlement with much Advantage to be made... therefore we have given Grants and... something... unto the said James Fraser a certain Tract of Land containing Ten Thousand Acres, lying and being in the County of Rowan within the Province of North Carolina and...' Well, I don't know exactly what all of this says, it's so faded, but I believe it lists where exactly the borders of the land lay, then it goes on to say that it'll be passed down to his heirs and that he can defend the land, and then he signs it here." He set down the document on the table and Maevis took a closer look at it.