Finally, I'm ready to start posting part 2 of this story! Sorry for
taking so long.
-LurkingWolf
---
Link 2: Ignorance
The ermine opened his eyes to the familiar sight of a grey stone
ceiling, dimly lit by a faint, flickering glow.Panic gripped him for a
moment, causing him to bolt upright in the bed.As quickly as it had
taken him, however, the panic faded.He remained cautious, but he could
not divine the cause of his initial terror.
Now that he was sitting up in the bed, he could see that he was in a
small but well-furnished room.He was sitting on a bed against the wall
furthest from the only door.The cushion he was resting on was kept off
the floor on a stout wooden frame, not particularly tall but high enough
for the bed's occupant to reach anything atop the adjacent table.
On the table itself was the single guttering candle that provided the
room's only illumination.There was a small pack sitting behind the small
candlestick, likely belonging to the girl in the chair at the foot of
his bed.She seemed to have been asleep until recently, as she looked at
him only a moment before he first noticed her.
"Lois?"
The ermine's ear twitched at her voice.It took him a moment before he
realized that she was talking to him.
"Lois..."The sound of his voice seemed odd, like his tongue and teeth
would not cooperate the way he was used to.In fact, as he felt about the
inside of his mouth, he realized that everything felt wrong.First, there
was far more space in his mouth than should have been possible, second,
and more alarming to him, his teeth were all sharp and pointed.
The panic returned in a moment as he raised his hands before his face,
finding that they were now covered by white fur on the backs and strange
black pads on his palms and fingers.Those fingers were shorter than he
remembered, certainly capable of grasping and manipulating objects but
still significantly reduced in their flexibility.His right hand also
featured a tangle of ugly scars where once the flesh had been entirely
unblemished.
In blind terror, the man swung his legs over the side of the bed, unable
to see any unexpected changes due to the robe that hung to the floor as
he stood.He looked about the room, hoping in vain to find a mirror.
"What's wrong?" the girl asked.She stood quickly and walked beside him,
trying to make eye contact even as he glanced around erratically.
"What happened to me?" he asked.His voice still seemed odd, but at least
the foreign feelings did not keep him from being able to speak intelligibly.
"A lutin shaman cast a spell on you to increase the effects of the
Curse.It took us two days to discover how to change you back.Are you all
right?"
The ermine turned to face her finally, gasping for breath in his
desperation.Seeing her face, however, he came up short.There was a
moment of confusion, and then a flash of recognition lit the man's face.
"Lucy," he said simply."Lucy, you're a mage!Tell me, why am I some sort
of animal?"
This plea brought the girl up short.She looked at him incredulously for
a moment, but a realization slowly dawned in her eyes.
"You don't remember?"
The ermine shook his head, his eyes pleading with her to explain his
unexpected change of form.He continued to watch her, even as she stepped
back and walked a small semicircle back around the room, silently trying
to explain the happening to herself.
"What is the last thing you recall?" she asked slowly.It was beginning
to dawn on her that the man they had rescued was an assassin.If he had
forgotten enough to be terrified to find himself turned into an ermine,
could that mean that he had likewise forgotten his decision to give up
his former employment?
The ermine stared off into the ceiling to his right.His eyes darted
about for a few moments, until he finally shook his head in frustration.
"I don't know," he admitted, returning his gaze to the mage standing
before him."I remember, people, places...I remember events, but I cannot
remember if I was ever there or if I simply heard of them from someone
else.I remember you; I remember I met you after I came to Metamor to
live..."He stopped, his eyes again darting for the ceiling."Metamor," he
mumbled.
"Why is Metamor Keep important?" Lucy prompted.
"I came to Metamor because...Because it was home?No, I had only visited
it once before.How could it be my home?"He grunted, clasping a fist to
either side of his head."Why can't I remember?"His voice carried a very
genuine degree of desperation.
Lucy rubbed her chin as she considered the same question."It must have
been the spell somehow."She winced."Did we take too long?"
"There has to be something you can do to help me," Lois demanded.As
Lucy's expression turned sour, he groaned again and paced around her.He
drove a fist into the nearby tabletop, making the candlestick jump and
wobble briefly, which earned a cautious glance from Lucy.As it settled,
she returned to her considerations.
"Do you recall who you are?" she asked after some time.
Lois hesitated for a moment, but he nodded slowly."I do not recall
everything, but I think I know enough.I am Vincent Lois.I am a patrolman
for Metamor Keep.I have not been here long -- but everything before
coming here is a blur."He winced."No, not a blur, I can't seem to pick
out any details at all."
Lucy was cautious about taking him at his word without question, but he
seemed sincere enough.He seemed lost, his eyes glancing about at nothing
as he tried to find hint of the memories that continued to elude him.His
breathing was erratic, and he occasionally hissed something
incomprehensible under his breath.The clear stress in his face and his
voice made it hard to even consider duplicity on his part.
The youthful mage made her way over to the side table, taking the pack
and browsing briefly through it until she found a small book with soft
leather binding.The first few dozen pages were occupied by a rather
eclectic combination of nature sketches, annotated magical diagrams, and
indecipherable lists that seemed to combine necessities that she
intended to buy at market and snide notes to self.The mage flipped past
those pages silently until she reached a blank sheet.
"Do you think you can still write?" she asked.
She gave Lois a small charcoal pencil, and watched as he looked at the
blank page.It took him a few moments, but he slowly began to sketch a
few letters, and before long the letters had formed an intelligible, if
uninteresting, sentence.
"I have not forgotten my letters," he confirmed, looking at his work.
Lucy smiled."Good.Based on what I have observed, you seem to have quite
a few memories," she noted."I would suppose that the best thing for you
would be to write down what you can remember, and try to remember
details about each particular thing.Memories exist as a chain, with each
one connected to the last.If you can find those connections, you should
be able to reconstruct much of what you have forgotten."
Lois looked skeptical, but he nodded."What will you be doing?" he asked.
"I need to tell the others that you have regained consciousness.When we
first broke the spell, you acted strangely.They will be happy to hear
that you recovered completely."She started towards the door, but
hesitated."Do you remember anything about what you said then?" she asked.
The ermine shut his eyes and grimaced."I don't recall anything beyond my
first few days within the walls."He glanced at one of his hands."Until I
noticed that something felt odd, I did not even recall being Cursed.I
remembered you, though, and we did not meet until after the Keep's curse
changed my form.Are you sure that memories are like a chain?How would I
remember the one and not the other?"
Lucy gave a smirk."I said it was a chain; I did not say that the chain
was linked in a line.A memory from your earliest years may connect to
something very recent.The links are caused by emotions and senses, not
necessarily in succession of time."
Lois nodded quietly."I still cannot recall any details of regaining
consciousness earlier," he admitted."I am sorry."
"Don't worry about it," Lucy replied."Once you have recovered your
memories, I am certain that this mystery will be revealed as well."
She opened the door and stepped out slowly, even as Lois sat on the edge
of the bed and began to look at the paper before him.He tried to think
of someplace to start, even as the door closed and left him in the dark
chamber alone.After a few moments of thought, he put the pencil to the
sheet of paper and wrote a question.
"Who is Vincent Lois?"
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