Amber of York: session 15, 11/08/2005
Role call:
- Dan: Laurens of Rocque
- Brad: Thomas Gray
- Brett: Gwynedd
- Alan: Sir Martin Neville
- Patrick: Gabriel of Brittany
- Makul: Donal Rourke
- Mike: Vivienne Avondale
Quillius and the Apprentices
Start Date: Dawn, Wednesday, May 2nd, 1431
City of York
Donal: “If you have time later today, I’d love to talk to you further about ... Meet up for lunch later?”
Thomas: “Okay.”
Thomas and Donal go get some rest. They meet at the Wolf’s Head inn for lunch. Donal feels like York feels better but is still unsettled. The conversation at lunch turns around Thomas’ background.
Thomas: “I studied in Italy. I ...” Thomas sums up.
Donal: “Do you have to draw something from actually having seen it?”
Thomas: “Umm ... I can do it from a description if a person is good enough at describing, but it tends not to work too well. In fact there is usually a pretty good chance that it goes horribly, horribly wrong.”
Donal: “Do you know of anyone else who can do this trick of yours?”
Thomas: “Lord Devereaux in Italy can do it.”
Donal: “And you can generally just send a few people or their belongings there?”
Thomas: “Or I can go through.”
Donal: “But, you seem to ...”
Thomas: “With more practice you can ... You know with a more refined picture you may be able to do scrying and things too. You know view without actually contacting. Making the other person aware that you are watching.”
Donal: “So I should actually be able to watch somebody through your book?”
Thomas: “You could, but I’m not quite skilled enough to be able to ... ah ... make you undetectable. They’d get probably the strong feeling of being watched. And the more astute like Vivienne would probably be able to react back through the painting.”
Donal: “Would you know how to stop someone from actually watching you?”
Thomas: “Yeah, you could. There are certain defenses you can have and use. For example, when we tried to contact Gwynedd earlier, the Dark One was able actually to block us. So if you are strong minded like Vivienne you could block a ... block a spying attempt ... detect it and block it.”
Donal: “Would there be some item like your book that would prevent you from being scryed?”
Thomas: “Ah ... there’s ... you can use an image of yourself to help defend against being scryed. But ...”
Donal: “Cause I can see that that would be really useful for us in our services to the Duke, if we were, you know, to be under ... a spell by the Dark Lord. It might be useful to have something like that at our needs.”
Thomas: “The problem is that it’s usually a very active defense. You have to concentrate on it to get it to work. You have to have at least some warning. If you get ambushed it ...”
Donal: “You wouldn’t have a way of making it just so that it would ... constantly be guarding ... against attacks by the Dark Lord?”
Thomas: “You could probably come up with something.”
Donal: “Yeah, I’m not trying to tell you what to do or anything. It just would be probably very useful for us to have.”
Thomas: “The biggest problem would be if your natural defenses are higher it might actually weaken you. For instance, I probably couldn’t do anything to ... to really help Vivienne’s defenses since her mind is so strong.”
Donal: “Now I don’t know if Vivienne would need something ... and if Gwynedd had something like this at her side ... well it probably wouldn’t help her out ... but someone like me or even ...”
Thomas: “There are some that could ...”
Donal: “You don’t really have a lot ...”
Thomas: “There’s something I could quickly do that might ...”
Donal: “Yeah?”
Thomas: “... Um ... help strengthen and help better utilize what defenses you already have. Is if I have a ... If I make a portrait of you, umm ...”
Donal: “Well, don’t you already have a portrait of me?”
Thomas: “I have a sketch. If I were to make a full painting of you and if you were to be under attack you could concentrate on your own image and focus on it to defend ...”
Donal: “But, I would have to know I would be under attack.”
Thomas: “That’s the problem.”
Donal: “Anyway, it’s just something to think about.” Shrugs. “Something to think about. It would probably be good ... I’ve got ... The Duke has a lot of interests outside of York and obviously we’ve been up north in the land of the Scots. There are other areas it would be useful to be able to reach immediately and you know if we have time and you would be interested, I’m sure the Duke would be quite interested in sending you on a road trip of sorts. You know sketching the countryside. And having more available areas for us to reach if we need to get there immediately.”
Thomas: “Actually, I’ve been meaning to ask ... You know I thought the messenger ... You know Gabriel might know of a number of places and ... his travels ... probably might get him around ... and you know ... I just never seem to have time to approach him and ask. But, if you have any suggestions that would be wonderful.”
Donal: “Well, I’m sure we can come up with something. And I’m sure we can ... you know arrange for your finances to be taken care of along the way.”
The group from Mount Grace come riding into York in the evening. The group is heralded as they arrive. It is now a force of 60 horse and 100 foot plus nobility and others. The Earl of Salisbury and his party are given accommodations. The Archbishop arrives at the castle within an hour of the arrival of the party. Gabriel, Laurens and Sir Martin report to the Duke. The Duke, the Earl, and the Archbishop retire to confer for the night. No one is arrested, but it is implied that everyone should stay nearby for further questions. Gabriel and Laurens head to their quarters to get some rest.
* Dan: “Laurens will forgo his usual puppy punting for the evening.” *
The next morning, Thursday, May 3rd.
Donal heads into work. He finds his friend/dupe, Nicholas Bayly, who he reports is surprised by Donal’s return.
Nicholas: “... on these missions for the Duke all the time. I figured you had out grown your current role.”
Donal: “No. There’s still a lot of work to be done around here.”
Donal makes sure that Nicholas hasn’t mucked up the investments. Gabriel gets up and finds a place to stretch out his battered muscles in a private place.
Sir Martin has breakfast sent to Cecily’s so that they can eat and talk. The conversation eventually reaches Sir Martin asking why Cecily decided to come ahead of the troops. Cecily says she believed the stories Sir Martin had told. And when he went ahead, she realized that something was terribly wrong. It took awhile for the their brother to rouse the troops, so she didn’t wait.
Sir Martin: “But, when you saw the creature, the demon, you addressed it as me.”
Cecily: “Somehow, I just knew it was you.”
Sir Martin: “Thank you for coming.”
Cecily: “Don’t worry. Our brother will take care of this. Laurens will pay for what he’s done.”
Sir Martin: “I hope the repercussions aren’t too vast.”
Sir Martin turns back to eating quietly.
Vivienne wakes up to hear a noise in the other chambers. She investigates. She sees Quillius standing there, reading a book.
Quillius: “I see you’ve taken to sleeping in during my absence.”
Vivienne: “Yesterday was a long day.”
Quillius: “I see. Tell me everything.”
Vivienne: “Where to start. ....” She tells the whole story without leaving out any details. Vivienne is worried about getting caught in a contradiction.
Vivienne has a nice refreshing morning. Quillius is relatively detached during the story. After, Quillius sends Vivienne off to breakfast.
* Hank: “Dude! Blood was going to spill. He knocked his RC can on to my computer.” *
Thomas wake up in the morning. He begins working on a project for Donal. He’s also finishing up his sketches and paintings. He has days of work ahead.
Laurens gets up and stretches. He then heads down to get some breakfast. He’s waiting to see.
Vivienne comes back from breakfast and finds Quillius gone. He returns once during the day. He tells Vivienne he is meeting with the Duke.
The day passes without event. That evening Sir Martin and Laurens are summoned to the Duke’s hall. Both arrive and enter. The two are the only two in the hall. Laurens looks out of the window. Sir Martin stands and waits. The silence is uncomfortable. About 10 minutes later, the Duke enters with Richard, Earl of Salisbury, the Archbishop Charles Dean and Quillius.
* Patrick: “Dick, Dick, Chuck and Quill.” *
Sir Martin goes down to one knee. Laurens pays his respects. The Archbishop is on left, then Richard, Earl of Salisbury, then Richard, Duke of York, then Quillius.
Duke: “I’ve gotten a relatively decent description of the events of the past couple of days. There’s declarations of infernal affectation to both of you depending on whose account may be read. As well as suggestions of divinity in some accounts. We’ve been having discussions about these matters, about the actions taken by all parties. And I’ve come to the conclusion that ... both of you need some measure of watching ... to see what influences may or may not be present. And so it is our will that both of you come into the service of Quillius for the time being. As he is particularly suited for watching for these signs. And the Archbishop has been somewhat lax of late in finding them in his own abbeys.”
The Archbishop is remarkably collected.
Duke: “We believe that both of you can be assets to this duchy if you can be kept free of the taint that plagues you both depending on the account. And Quillius seems to think that this is possible. Are we understood?”
Laurens: “Of course, your Grace.”
Sir Martin nods. The Duke nods to dismiss the two. They leave the hall together. Both are uncharacteristically quiet. Laurens heads to Quillius’ chambers and awaits Quillius’ return. Sir Martin does the same.
Vivienne is doing some cleaning and hears a knock at the door. She opens it to see Laurens and Sir Martin.
Vivienne: “Can I help you?”
Sir Martin: “I am waiting to see Quillius.”
Laurens: “I need a chair to wait for Quillius.”
Vivienne: “Very well.”
Vivienne sees them in and makes them comfortable.
Laurens: “I need refreshments.”
Vivienne: “I’ll see what we have.”
* Brett: “We have some sweet meats.” *
Vivienne gets some wine. The two sit and wait.
Gabriel spent the day catching up on stuff. He talks to people around the castle to see what is going on. He heads into town to find out about stories that are coming in from the north and west. After he returns to the castle for the evening, he is summoned to the Duke’s chambers. Gabriel goes immediately. He meets only with the Duke.
* Alan: “Dude. That means you’re his youthful ward.” *
* Brett: “He kicks a black corset under the bed and goes to cover up the blood stain.” *
Gabriel: “Yes, your Grace.”
Duke: “We made a decision with regards to Laurens and Sir Martin. I wanted to thank you for your report.”
Gabriel: “Anything I can do, your Grace. May I ask what your decision was?”
Duke: “Quillius is convinced that both of them are ... of great use to the duchy ... and can be possibly put to great purpose. It provided an easy solution to this. They are both now in his care to help them ...”
Gabriel almost smiles at that.
Duke: “One hopes that at least one and maybe two finely edged blades will come from this. I just wanted you to be aware.”
Gabriel: “Thank you.”
Quillius returns to his chambers. “Quite an adventure you two have been having.”
Laurens: “Yes.”
Quillius: “First we need to stamp out these notions of divine and infernal. Neither of these things are what caused what ... you both were about.”
Laurens: “That’s what I said.”
Quillius: “We’ll begin in the morning.”
Sir Martin: “If I may ask, what do you intend?”
Quillius: “To teach you how to use your talents.”
Sir Martin blanches a little, but otherwise says nothing more. Quillius dismisses them.
Quillius: “We’ll see you in the morning.
Sir Martin: “Vivienne.”
Vivienne: “Good evening.”
Later that evening Donal goes to talk to Vivienne.
Donal: “What’s going on with Laurens and Martin.”
Vivienne: “They’re in service to Quillius, now.”
Donal: “To what end?”
Vivienne: “To instruct them to take advantage of their abilities.”
Donal: “What ... I know ... I understand what Martin ... What is Quillius is teaching Laurens?”
Vivienne: “I don’t know.”
Donal: “I’d be curious to know.”
Vivienne: “When they start I’ll have a better idea.”
Donal: “Dinner?”
Vivienne pauses for a while. “To what end?””
Donal: “We’ve been through a lot.”
* Brett: “The loss of unicorn eligibility.”*
Donal: “If you prefer to have dinner with the warriors, I understand. I’ll talk to you later.”
Vivienne: “All right.”
* Patrick: “But how can you recognize her with a bucket on her head?” *
* Brett: “That’s not the only thing that’s riveted shut.”*
Sir Martin goes to talk to Richard, the Earl of Salisbury.
Sir Martin: “What happened?”
Richard: “Quillius is convinced that you have some remarkable talents given to you and as has been demonstrated you have not yet come to master them.”
Sir Martin: “Sure. Let’s not talk about me.”
Richard: “What happened with Laurens?”
Sir Martin: “What happened with Cecily? She had a knife to her throat.”
Richard: “I’m well aware of that.”
A long pause.
Sir Martin: “And he stays in the Duke’s employ.”
Richard: “No. He now reports to Quillius.”
Sir Martin: “Quillius reports to the Duke.”
Richard: “That’s an interesting supposition. I think you’ll find that his new role will cause him some amount of hardship.”
Long silence.
Sir Martin: “Good night.”
Richard: “See what you can learn from him.”
Sir Martin: “I will.”
Richard: “And see what you can teach him as well.” Uncomfortable pause. “I think the Duke made a good case for the two of you being able to help one another.”
The next morning the Earl and his troops head back to Raby. Cecily decides to remain at court for a while.
At first light, Laurens and Sir Martin report to Quillius to begin training. Quillius and Vivienne are talking when the two arrive.
Quillius: “Excellent. Ready for you first lessons? Who would like to begin.”
Sir Martin: “I shall.”
Quillius: “Very well.”
Quillius goes to his desk and writes a little note. He rolls it up tightly and places it in a small tube. He grabs a little piece of string. “I need this delivered to a friend who lives a bit north of London. Tall tower. Stands alone. Along the north road about 4 miles north of London. You need to be back by sunset. I would suggest falcon.”
Sir Martin feels himself change, and the room gets much bigger. Quillius ties the tube to his leg and tosses Sir Martin Falcon out the window. Sir Martin Falcon uses the sun to determine which way is south and starts flying. He’s not certain he can, but he’s not going to give up.
* Brett: “And wait ‘til you see the return package.” *
* Brad: “I suggest dromedary.” *
Laurens: “Let him confess that to his priest.”
Quillius turns to Laurens after making sure the bird flew a bit. “He took to that well enough. Are you ready for your first lesson?”
Laurens: “Definitely.”
Quillius: “Vivienne would you get me one of your hair ribbons?” Vivienne goes and retrieves a ribbon. “Stand still if you please.” Quillius reaches up and ties a little bow in a tuft of Laurens’ hair. “Remove that.”
Laurens finds himself unable to move. Try as he might, despite his anger at the ribbon, he can’t move. After trying for hours his is merely sweating and blinking.
Gabriel sends a note to Quillius to have a private meeting in the afternoon. Gabriel arranges to be trained in the ways of the mind to protect himself from being paralyzed. Quillius is happy to help one of the Duke’s assets protect himself.
Sir Martin Falcon delivers the message and flies back. He arrives to see Vivienne and Quillius eating a light dinner and Laurens standing with a ribbon in a tuft of his hair. He sees Vivienne occasionally glance over at Laurens. Laurens sees Sir Martin and lashes out with his mind. He seems to glower without even moving. Sir Martin Falcon hops over to the table and looks down at the food. Quillius just looks at him.
Quillius: “That’s all. Shoo. Change back and go back to your room.”
Sir Martin returns to his human form and walks out.
It takes Laurens three and a half days to be able to take the ribbon out of his hair.
Quillius continues each of their training regimens. He strongly encourages the two to train with each other. He wants Laurens to train Sir Martin.
* Makul: “We’re going to go pay Thomas a visit.” *
Quillius requires them to spend a few hours out in the training yards working with each other each day. During their practice they see Gabriel take great personal pleasure in them training with each other.
Thomas finishes his project for Donal. He gives Donal an amulet.
Donal: “Let me know when you want to go on that trip. I think you would love to see the sights of France.”
Thomas: “Wow! France. That would be wonderful.”
Donal: “There are probably some excellent wineries that you’d love to paint, and if you’re there, they’d be quite interesting for you to take a look at.”
Thomas: “Okay.”
Donal gives him a nice itinerary of places to sketch.
Gabriel goes to see Thomas to get in contact with Gwynedd to make sure she is okay.
Gwynedd: “Yes?”
Thomas: “Gabriel is making sure you are okay since you didn’t come right back to York with us. Since you didn’t come back after the incident at the priory.”
Gwynedd: “Well, you know me. Actually, I’ll be back in York in a week or so.”
Thomas: “When you get back in York, Gabriel would like to talk to you about the druids.”
Gwynedd: “Nothing new. Apparently, the bad feeling I was having to the north was this place.”
Thomas: “Ah. Not to surprising.”
Gwynedd: “I’m haven’t really noticed any other bad thing that’s obvious to me. That’s not really saying much. And I guess the druids are still off to the west. I don’t really know much else.”
Thomas: “You may want to take the opportunity when you get to York to look up Gabriel.”
Thomas is going to use his wonderful travel time to explore the sights of France. “Why am I in a warehouse? The itinerary says it’s famous ...” Thomas is going to use the time he is traveling to contemplate the nature of reality.
Gwynedd return to York after a week and a half of time in Mount Grace.
Sir Martin is feeling much greater command over his talents.
Sir Martin to Quillius: “It still troubles me.”
Quillius: “That you were gifted this way? Why would that trouble you. It’s a tremendous boon.”
Sir Martin: “Someone else was trying to teach me, too.”
Quillius: “No, they were trying to make use of these talents of yours.”
Sir Martin: “Isn’t that what you said the Duke wants to do? Make use of our talents?”
Quillius: “I think the Duke wants you to understand and know how to use them. In the hopes that of course you will continue to serve him as is your duty as one of his knights.”
Sir Martin: “The training is similar, but had a different tone. It was not willing either on my part. In some ways, I was forced into this, too.”
Quillius: “You shouldn’t deny the gifts that were given to you. They’re not infernal. You’re not the first in your line to have them. Nor will you be the last.”
Sir Martin: “What do you mean?”
Quillius: “I’ll tell you a story sometime.”
Sir Martin: “Okay.”
Quillius: “About your great, great uncle.”
Sir Martin: “It is hard for me to reconcile. I’ll await your story with keen interest. What exactly did you seek to accomplish by tying a ribbon in Laurens’ hair?”
Quillius: “What exactly did I seek to accomplish by tying a ribbon in his hair? He needed incentive of some sort. Otherwise, I’m half convinced he would stand there in spite of his ability to break it just to spite me.” A pause. “He’s had much damage done to him in his life.”
Sir Martin: “It would seem that those around him have had equal damage done to them.”
Quillius: “You shouldn’t believe all the tales.”
Sir Martin: “One tale I heard was from my sister’s mouth. He threw her at the demon.”
Quillius: “The demon? The demon that was you?”
Sir Martin: “I wasn’t present at the time.”
Quillius: “Of course you were.”
Sir Martin: “I was held somewhere else against my will.”
Quillius: “You were nowhere else. You were inside yourself.”
Sir Martin: “The room, the table, Vivienne?”
Quillius: “Yes.”
Sir Martin: “Inside myself?”
Quillius: “Yes.”
Sir Martin: “How was that?”
Quillius: “There were certainly forces at work trying to influence you. I don’t deny that. But, the demon was you. It was one of many shapes you could take.”
Sir Martin: “Yes, I understand that. But, the demon’s actions were not my own.”
Quillius: “But, perhaps, Laurens thought that putting your sister in your path was the easiest way to get you to come to your senses.”
Sir Martin: “Well, one of us was bereft of his senses, but I’m not sure it was me.”
Quillius: “You both have demons you are fighting. But, most of them come from yourselves.”
Sir Martin: “How can I protect myself against the Agent’s influence.”
Quillius: “That’s what we are going to work on. I would be a failure as a teacher if I couldn’t keep all of your minds to yourselves.”
Sir Martin: “I look forward to those lessons with great enthusiasm.”
One of the mornings while Vivienne is doing her chores, she sees an unsavory deposit made on the floor. She sees it, and wishes for a mop of some sort to clean it and it appears in her hands. Vivienne also begins to work in some spell maintenance as part of her daily routine.
Gwynedd stops in Wass on her way back to York. She sees that it is struggling. None of the aid that was promised has been received yet. Gwynedd does her best to quietly encourage a good harvest. She’ll also makes sure that nothing bad is happening in the pit.
Sir Martin: “So are the rumors true? Did you kill that nun?”
Laurens: “I don’t remember ever killing a nun ...”
Sir Martin: “Drowning her ...”
Laurens: “I killed a priest once. But, never a nun.”
Sir Martin: “A priest? In the orient?”
Laurens: “No. In Constantinople.”
Sir Martin: “Oh? I’m sure it was an amusing story.”
Laurens: “Not really. It was during Mass. He made a terrible mess.”
* Alan: “Goddammit. I throw out the olive branch, and he burns it!” *
* Dan: “I told the truth!” *
Gwynedd arrives back at York. She stops in at the Wolf’s Head and talks to Edith and arranges for rooms. She then heads to the castle and asks to see Gabriel. A runner is sent to find Gabriel. Gabriel gets the message that a Welsh lass is at the gates.
Gabriel: “Good to see you back in York.”
Gwynedd feels like the city is normal.
Gwynedd: “Things seem to be going well for now.”
Gabriel: “I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”
Gwynedd: “Umm, no, I didn’t have any farmers kidnap me and chain me to their altar ...”
Gabriel: “I do have something you would be interested in seeing. Would you care to escort into the castle yard?”
Gwynedd: “Have me escort you into the castle yard?”
Gabriel: “Well, come with me. This will be great. You’ll like seeing this.”
Gwynedd: “Okay.”
They enter the courtyard.
* Alan: “Sir Martin walks past them, ‘He is still an asshole.’“*
Laurens and Sir Martin appear to be trying to kill one another.
Gwynedd: “So ... they’re still fighting?”
Gabriel: “Actually, I think Laurens is training Sir Martin.”
Gwynedd: “He’s hitting him awfully hard.”
Gabriel: “They’re both now Quillius’ apprentices.”
Every once in a while Laurens gets a gash in on Sir Martin which closes up almost immediately.
Gwynedd: “You said that Quillius is training them?”
Gabriel: “Yeah the net result of all the events that led up to Mount Grace, left them as Quillius’ apprentices.”
Gwynedd: “Okay, I thought something happened in the chapel, but that’s sort of ...”
Gabriel: “You don’t know what happened in the chapel?”
Gwynedd: “I was busy talking to the knights of Raby.”
Gabriel: “Um, Sir Martin Demon charged Laurens who was holding Cecily at knife point, then Laurens threw Cecily into the arms of Sir Martin Demon, taking the opportunity afforded to actually cleave Sir Martin Demon in the head. Then, Sir Martin Demon turned back into Sir Martin, and Laurens decided he wasn’t quite done with Sir Martin, yet. And, I had a disagreed with him.”
Gwynedd: “You didn’t seem that bad when I left you with the monks.”
Gabriel: “Anyway, that did lead to some concerns ...”
Gwynedd: “Yes.”
Gabriel: “... expressed through the Earl of Salisbury, the Archbishop, Quillius and the Duke.”
Gwynedd: “So the Earl was riding up to see his sister sacrificed to a demon and his brother with his head cleaved off and Laurens standing there with a bloody axe.”
Gabriel: “Yes. So it was probably good that you stopped and talked to the soldiers.”
Gwynedd: “I was just worried about them seeing the monks getting killed.”
Gabriel: “That’s what happened in the chapel.”
Gwynedd: “So, Quillius is training them?”
Gabriel: “Yes.”
Gwynedd: “So, Quillius is back?”
Gabriel: “Yes. Apparently he got back about the same time as we got back.”
Gwynedd: “How is everyone else?”
Gabriel: “As far as I know, everyone is fine. I haven’t really seen Thomas or Donal recently, but I’m sure they’re fine.”
Gwynedd: “So, for what it is worth, Wass is still there. But, they’re struggling. There’s word that aid is coming.”
Gabriel: “At least nothing worse has happened. Did you have anymore encounters with the Agent or the Dark Man or hear anymore stories of his presence while you were still out there?”
Gwynedd: “No. Not a thing.”
Gabriel: “I think we should still find out about the druids.”
Gwynedd: “Yeah, I ... there is quite a bit of a mess up around Mount Grace. But, once that is done ...”
Gabriel confidentially: “I have been kind of laughing about this for two weeks.”
Gwynedd: “Laughing about which?”
In the distance, Sir Martin yells, “Asshole!”
Gabriel: “These two having to work together everyday.”
Gwynedd: “Umm ... I have a question for Quillius if he is still in.”
Gabriel: “I’ll take you up to his quarters.”
Gabriel takes Gwynedd to Quillius’ quarters and leaves her with Vivienne.
Thomas on his wanderings, “You tell me that you really do eat these snails here?”
Gwynedd: “I didn’t take the chance to ask you this before, but I did come to York with a question on my mind.”
Quillius: “Yes?”
Gwynedd: “And, I’m not quite sure how to put it, so I’ll just come right out.”
Quillius: “A bard at a loss for words.”
Gwynedd: “Yeah. I get that sometimes. What in the world is happening in the world?”
Quillius: “Whatever do you mean?”
Gwynedd: “It’s not normal for bloodless monks to chain people to altars and trap demons ...”
Quillius: “It’s not?”
Gwynedd: “Well it’s ... not in my limited experience. Maybe things are different now ...”
Quillius: “Perhaps, that’s the problem. You have but limited experience.”
Gwynedd: “But, even at home, things were changing. More magickal things were disturbing the peace.”
Quillius: “Yes, that’s true.”
Gwynedd: “Things seem to be changing in strange directions.”
Quillius: “Very astute.”
Gwynedd: “Well ... it sort of ... slapped me in the face at a few points. But, yes, I noticed eventually. What’s happening?”
Quillius: “It sounds like you have answered your own question. Things are changing. Perhaps, you’re not asking the right question.”
Gwynedd hear in her head Vivienne saying, “I get that a lot.”
Gwynedd: “Is something ... what’s causing these changes in the world? Is it just another season? There seems to be someone who is definitely trying to make things happen, but ...”
Quillius: “There’s a number of someones.”
Thoughtful silence.
Gwynedd: “So, how do we keep everything from breaking?”
Quillius: “Change isn’t always destructive.”
Gwynedd: “Oh, I understand that, but ...”
Quillius: “This is a change for the better. Think of it more as an infection being stamped out. Granted it’s been ...”
Gwynedd: “Usually infections lead to amputations.”
Quillius: “Let’s hope that’s not the case. There is an infection spread through the world. It seeks to destroy the things you speak of. I’d say there is an act of retaliation in progress.”
Gwynedd: “So, what’s behind this agent that we’ve been seeing?”
Quillius: “The agent is one side of the infection.”
Gwynedd: “And what are they ... what are they trying to do? They seem to have a pretty malevolent purpose.”
Quillius: “The agent seeks destruction. The agent is in someways an easier form of the infection to fight. Which is partially why I left him up to you.”
Gwynedd: “I have to say that it is a story I don’t entirely ... well even partially understand.”
Quillius: “There was a time when this was more normal. Then a while ago, when I was young, the infection began. It has been spreading every since.”
Gwynedd: “What exactly is this infection?”
Quillius: “You see it constantly. You hear its praises sung on Sundays.”
Gwynedd: “The Church?”
Quillius: “The Church is the scab on the infection, I suppose. But, what the Church represents, yes. They have no room in their world for such as you or I. If they have their way, all of us will go away.”
Gwynedd: “You mean the Church’s war on the Old Ways?”
Quillius: “That is one of its main purposes. Everywhere it goes it seeks to destroy the Old Way.”
Gwynedd: “And the Old Ways are fighting back?”
Quillius: “Each in its own way.”
Gwynedd: “And this agent comes out of the ... the ... rooted in the Church or rooted in the Old Ways.”
Quillius: “The agent that you fought. He is their opposite, but he is not the Old Ways. Their battle was once their own, but now it has spilled into our world.”
Gwynedd: “I have quite a bit of trouble seeing the agent at work.”
Quillius: “You’ll find one of their many abilities, both of them, they make it more difficult to do what we do. You see their presence destroys the nature of the world. And replaces it with their own. "
Gwynedd: “What do you know of the druids?”
Quillius: “In general, or the ones that visited here?”
Gwynedd: “The ones that the agent was so angry about ... the ones that seem to be to the west of us.”
Quillius: “I met with them while you and your associates met with the agents assistants. They won’t be a danger to the duchy anymore.”
Gwynedd: “They were threatening the duchy?”
Quillius: “In their own way. They were being manipulated into it. They’ve been refocused.”
Gwynedd: “So are things really quiet now? Or is there something else brewing?”
Quillius: “There are many things brewing. It’s quiet for the moment. We have yet to see the results of what happened here. The Archbishop will not take his recent defeat lightly.”
Gwynedd: “Well, I intend to resume my work around Mount Grace. If there is nothing else demanding my services.”
Quillius: “That’s certainly a good start. Cleanse it of the taint they placed there. Both the old and the new.”
Gwynedd: “Well, Thomas certainly knows how to reach me. I don’t doubt that you do as well. If you have need of me.”
Quillius: “Excellent. There are many things for you to do.”
Gwynedd: “I’d rather fix them here before they spread to Wales.”
Quillius has Vivienne working with Laurens to learn words of power.
Laurens seeks an audience with the Duke. The Duke agrees to meet with Laurens. Laurens meets with him in the library.
Duke: “Greetings, Laurens.”
Laurens: “Greetings, your Grace.”
Duke: “How goes your time with Quillius?”
Laurens: “Very well, I think.”
Duke: “Excellent. I enjoyed my time with him.”
Laurens: “Was there a ribbon involved, your Grace?”
Duke: “I think he teaches each differently.”
Laurens: “I have a question, your Grace.”
Duke: “Yes.”
Laurens: “My goal is to serve you and York to the best of my ability. I was wondering based on ...”
Duke: “We appreciate that.”
Laurens: “Based on our last adventure, do you have any suggestions or orders on how you want me to deal with situations differently or threats to York differently.”
Duke: “I recognize that I have different loyal servants for different tasks. And were I to send Gabriel on a task, for instances, I would expect that task to be carried out differently than were I to send you. That said, I think there are things for you to learn still about how to lead.”
Laurens: “Do you want me to lead them, your Grace?”
Duke: “I think it may come to that. Quillius says that a force is rising and change is coming. And all of you may be an important part of it. When that comes, they need someone who can direct them and not just by force.”
Laurens: “Do you have any recriminations, your Grace?”
Duke: “I think currently you’re a song that tends to have one note.”
Laurens: “Really?”
Duke: “There are many ways to solve problems. I think Quillius will teach you some of this. I actually hope Martin will teach you some of this. Gabriel is one. They all have things you can learn.”
Laurens: “Based on ... just based on everything you have heard ... do you perceive Sir Martin as a threat?”
Duke: “Of course. But, also, a potential asset. Quillius maintains that his talents were being used poorly and allowed him to come under the influence of another.”
Laurens: “You mean under the Dark Lord.”
Duke: “My understanding is that did not ... that it was close to occurring, but did not.”
Laurens: “I’ll cut to the point, your Grace. We had no way of knowing that, and Gabriel stood in the way. We didn’t know whether he was taken over or not.”
Duke: “I understand that.”
Laurens: “We knew he healed quickly. He could have stood back up and turned back into the demon.”
Duke: “I think ... I suspect Gabriel was confident that if he needed to, he could dispatch the demon. And he didn’t think he needed to. He is far from your typical messenger. As I understand from your battle with him, you discovered for yourself.”
Laurens: “All right, your Grace. I’m taking your advice to heart. I will try to find out what knowledge or intuition Gabriel possessed to make that decision. I will try to learn.”
Duke: “I think when you see opposition, you see the best way to protect me from it is to destroy it. And I believe Gabriel looks for opportunities to employ it instead.”
Laurens: “I understand, your Grace, but there was a 16 foot tall demon, and it was virtually indestructible, and it was poised to wreak havoc across the countryside. I would like to know how Gabriel knew he could turn that.”
Duke: “That, I don’t know. But, I trust those who taught him.”
Laurens: “I think he has a soft heart, your Grace, and couldn’t bring himself to finish Sir Martin.”
Duke: “I suspect if he was as soft as you think, he would not have survived his teaching.”
Laurens: “Thank you, your Grace.”
Duke: “But, you should have that conversation.”
Laurens: “I will.”
Laurens goes off to think through his anger and frustration.
Thomas continues to wander France, “Why does he keep sending me to warehouses and docks?”
Laurens: “Sir Martin, I thought on our conversation the other day. The priest made a mess at Mass. I told a joke. You’re having a good influence on me.”
Laurens turns and walks away.
Cecily is relatively disgusted with everything that is going on with Sir Martin. He spends time behind closed doors with Quillius, and she sees him in the training grounds with Laurens fighting for fun.
Sir Martin: “It was apparently the best course of action by the greatest number of cook in a single room. It’s not what I would have chosen.”
Cecily: “So, have you learned anything from this instruction you say you are upon?”
Sir Martin: “I’m learning to control what happened back at the abbey, the priori, whatever.”
Cecily: “Control the ...?”
Sir Martin: “The transformation.”
Cecily: “I thought the demon was driven from you.”
Sir Martin: “Yeah, well”
Cecily: “I don’t understand brother.”
Sir Martin: “The ability is mine. But, I was being ...”
Cecily: “It was granted by God.”
Sir Martin: “Sure. Yes.”
Cecily: “You claim to be divinely inspired. You turned into an angel.”
Sir Martin: “I believe there were other forces at work, playing upon my talents. My ability.”
Cecily: “They somehow corrupted the divine to turn you into that thing.”
Sir Martin: “Something like that.”
Cecily: “But, what does this Quillius character have to do with the divine? Why are you not studying with the Church?”
Sir Martin: “The Church doesn’t have an easy answers for this sort of thing.”
Cecily: “They should have the only answer for this sort of thing.”
* Makul: “This is why I didn’t go out with her, by the way.” *
Sir Martin: “Well, if you question the whole situation, why don’t you ask the Duke yourself?”
Cecily: “Alright, I will.”
Sir Martin: “I’ll be very curious to hear of what he tells you. Shall we talk of better matters? I have some errands to take care of.” Sir Martin and Cecily perform some errands. Sir Martin arranges for messengers to be sent out.
Gwynedd is staying at the Wolf’s Head Inn. In the evening, a messenger for Gwynedd arrives. The messenger hands Gwynedd a piece of parchment that has been sealed with a signet ring. The messenger leaves. She takes it somewhere private and opens it. It contains a document that gives her ownership of 2 milk cows, 2 acres of land and the peasants on it. It says that the property is managed by the Neville estate. All proceeds will be paid to her each harvest.
Sir Andrew, the Master of the Horse, finds Gabriel in his quarters.
Sir Andrew: “Your presence is requested in the stables.”
Gabriel follows Sir Andrew down the stables where there is a black destrier stallion, saddled with 2 silver daggers.
Sir Andrew: “Someone thought you might need a new mount.”
Gabriel: “Tell them I give them my thanks.”
There is a knock on Quillius’ door. Vivienne answers. She sees a messenger bearing a box made of walnut. It has a carving on the front of two hands clasped. Vivienne opens it up. She finds a pair of emerald earrings. Vivienne asks who it is from. The messenger says that it came from Sir Martin Neville. Vivienne writes a note of thanks and sends the note back with the messenger.
There is a knock on Laurens’ door. Laurens opens it with the same care as always.
Laurens: “What? What’s your message?”
The messenger attempts to give Laurens a box.
Laurens: “Put it on the ground. Open it.”
There is a small gold cross inside.
Laurens: “Bring it in and put it on that table. Who’s it from?”
Messenger: “Sir Martin, milord.”
Laurens: “I knew Sir Martin had a wit. You can leave.”
Stick Figure Theater
