<i>March 6, 708CR</i> With Lois in a cage and the threat of plague weighing heavily on his mind, Alex passed his evening in a state of restless contemplation. In the end, he rose well before dawn and waited beside an eastward facing window to watch the sky brighten as the sun slowly painted its far reaches.
As it turned out, he was not the only one to have trouble sleeping that evening. His first inkling that one of his companions was also restless was a spicy tang his sensitive nose detected coming from behind him. He turned slightly, and caught a glimpse of Lucy approaching, carefully carrying a small, steaming pot with the help of a cloth. She nodded to him, setting the pot on a nearby table before drawing out a pair of cups as though from midair. While her apparent age could not have been much higher than ten years, the subtle confidence with which she executed every daily task spoke of her hidden years. “Ever drink tea?” she asked quietly. He shook his head. “It smells good, though,” he admitted, turning back to the window. She silently poured a cup for each of them without further inquiry. The lynx sniffed the proffered beverage experimentally. It combined a spicy scent that he did not immediately recognize with a second, sweeter flavor that complemented the first flawlessly. He took a sip of the concoction, and nodded in approval. “It is quite delicious,” he stated. “Thank you.” Lucy took a small sip from her own cup before responding. “I had gotten this for my father in the Keep before we left, but did not have the time to leave it with him. With the quarantine and Lois’ situation, I expect that it will be disappointingly stale by the time I return, so I decided to use it now. My father also drinks it to relax, and I think that is a use we can both appreciate at the moment.” Alex sighed with resignation. “Have you taken a look at Lois yet?” “Yes,” she replied. “It was only a brief look last night; I wasn’t certain where to start, and I needed some rest. I think I’ll finish my drink and take another look at the earliest possible convenience.” Alex nodded his understanding. “Where is Julian?” he asked. She tilted her head and nodded towards one of the barracks walls. “Sleeping in the next room,” she replied. “Based on my experience, we do not have to worry overly much about waking him. He has unprecedented skill when it comes to sleeping through any situation.” “Do you think he might have any useful input into the question of reversing the spell on Lois?” Lucy shrugged. “It is possible. He spent quite a bit of time in Nasoj’s base of operations. He might be familiar with spells I do not recognize. I am likely the more experienced party when it comes to enchantments, however, so I will perform the initial examination.” She sipped her tea once more before turning to look at him. “Do you have family in the Keep?” He shook his head. “I don’t have any family remaining in the North. Much of my family moved south after Nasoj’s last attack prior to the Three Gates, and my father lost his own life during that battle. As far as I know, my family in the South is still alive and well, but communications have been difficult to maintain since the Curse. Attempting to visit is a near impossibility for the same reason. I worry for those within the walls; plague is perhaps the worst way I know of to die. Gerard and his family also concern me, but I do not have as personal a concern as some others.” Lucy nodded. “My father should still be outside of the walls, and I know he can care of himself. I do not worry overmuch for him, but I am concerned about what this could mean for Metamor. Trade relations are difficult as it is, and there are bound to be many merchants trapped within the Keep during the quarantine. Things may become much more difficult, very quickly.” Alex sighed before quietly taking another sip of the warm drink. It truly was relaxing, he decided. He would have to find some of this tea for himself once the walls had reopened. The two continued to drink together, but conversation stalled until well after they had finished their cups. By that time, the edge of the sun’s disk was visible over the horizon, and they both realized that they had a task to tend to. Lucy collected her teapot and the cups, and left to stow them with her belongings before they began their work. Alex arrived in the private room first. It had been set aside for their use after the situation had been explained. With Outpost’s denizens preoccupied with other things, it would likely be up to the mages in Alex’s patrol to do what they could on their own to reverse the effects of the spell on their companion. Several chairs which had originally been set about the central table had been moved to the side to give more room for mages to stand as they made their investigations. Against one wall, a small metal stove was set, a low fire burning in it to warm the room. The small wooden cage that held the ermine sat in the center of a rough-hewn wooden table. A cloth covered the cage, and Alex withdrew it softly, setting it beside the cage on the table. The small creature within looked at him without recognition as light was once more allowed to enter its prison. It seemed to inspect the bars for a few moments, but quickly became disinterested, seeming to conclude that escape was impossible. There was nothing of the assassin’s usual cunning in those actions. Lucy arrived not long afterwards as Alex was taking time to add fuel to the fire, bringing along a slightly bedraggled moondog. Julian nodded wordlessly to his new commander, eyes straying immediately thereafter towards the weasel in the cage. The youthful mage was the first to approach the imprisoned creature, however. She brought a pack with her, but set it beside one leg of the table without opening it. Instead, she quickly turned her focus to the animal between the bars of the cage. Alex could tell, despite his lack of training in any such art, that she had already begun to use magesight to attempt to divine the nature of the spell that had forced Lois into his most animalistic form. Alex, with nothing he could do to help, stepped over towards Julian, who held a cup of the same concoction that Lucy had shared with Alex shortly before. He sipped at it even more slowly than the lynx had his own, holding it with his fingers splayed about the rim and swirling it about the cup in one hand with movements that seemed oddly practiced. “Did you drink much tea on your prior assignment?” Alex asked, voice hushed in consideration for Lucy’s efforts. The moondog shook his head and drank another few drops. “I haven’t had any since before my home fell.” He glanced at the cup as he resumed the swirling motion with his wrist. “It does bring to mind thought of more peaceful times, I must say. Ginger and peach was also a favorite blend of my master. I will have to ask Lucy where she found it.” Alex nodded. After a few moments more of watching Lucy inspect the weave of spells around the ermine, he leaned back towards the moondog to whisper another question. “Do you know of any spells that Nasoj might have been working on that could explain this?” The moondog frowned deeply. “I did my best to explore any new attacks that might be used on the Keep as they appeared, but I never heard of any such spell beyond the simple fetish stone, and that requires contact with the spell’s target to produce a lasting effect,” he explained. “Fetish stones were largely used only by lutins after their inception. Human mages decided that they didn’t like having to be within an arm’s length of their targets, so they have largely abandoned their use. Lutin shamans like the intimidation factor, though. Many still keep them about to make themselves feel more powerful than they actually are.” “There’s no sign of any fetish stone here, however,” Alex muttered with a sigh. “Exactly. The implication seems to be that this shaman discovered a way to project the same effect over a larger area.” He shook his head, clearly disturbed by the thought. “In that case, I am not certain why we were not also forced into our fully Cursed forms as well. We felt the magic, so it could not simply have been targeted at him alone. For some reason, however, he not only felt it, but has been under its effects for at least twelve hours by now, with no signs of improvement.” Lucy continued to explore the magic surrounding the cage’s occupant, stepping about its perimeter with her eyes squinted, as though trying to see the finest details of some complicated construct. The two men waited for some time, Julian carefully refueling the fire once while the young mage focused on her work. He returned to his commander’s side immediately thereafter. Still, Lucy made no apparent progress, and the hours stretched on. “Do you think you could be of some assistance?” Alex asked at length. “No. Not at the moment, at any rate,” he answered without hesitation. “I trust Lucy’s eye in this more than my own. I have had barely a month to study the effects of the Curse firsthand. Also, after how she assisted me when I first arrived, I know she is unfazed by difficult challenges.” The two watched for a few more minutes before Lucy stepped back, blinking a few times and shaking her head. She walked towards them with a look of confusion on her face. “Every mage worth their salt has looked over the Curse in hopes of being the miracle worker who will reverse it, and I am no exception. I have seen the Curse in all of its forms more times than I care to enumerate, and I see nothing in Lois’ case to suggest that there has been any modification to it whatsoever. The magic surrounding him looks like any other Keeper to whom the Keep has given an animal form. There are no missing threads, nothing extra, and nothing to explain why he is on all fours in a cage instead of having this conversation with us.” The three stood in silent contemplation for a few moments before one of them spoke. Julian was the one who finally broke the silence. “I do not particularly enjoy the fact, but bitter experience has made me a cynic of necessity.” He lowered his voice and continued. “Is it possible that Lois used the opportunity provided by the shaman’s failed casting to play a wounded deer gambit?” Lucy looked confused, but Alex gave a soft nod. To Lucy, he whispered, “Feigning a wound to your own advantage. It could be such a ruse; his past suggests similar escapades have succeeded for him before.” The young mage shook her head sternly. “There are certain mannerisms that animals have that no man can imitate, even one Cursed with the form of an animal. I have seen quite a few ermines in my time among trappers, and this one acts no more different than any of them. Lois is either the best actor in the Midlands, or his mind has been reduced to that of an ermine.” Alex rubbed the fur on the back of his neck for a few moments. “His credentials as an actor are unquestioned, but I do not believe he had either time or reason to learn how to effectively emulate the tendencies of a feral ermine. Also, it would be far too risky for him to attempt an escape here.” He glanced at each of his companions. “I believe there is no duplicity involved. If he had wanted to escape, he would have done so during the mission.” The two others nodded in silent agreement. His logic made sense, even if the lack of apparent magical tampering did not. “So the question becomes, what am I missing?” Lucy asked. Alex shrugged. He realized with more than a little distaste that his only answer so far had reflected his ignorance concerning magical matters. “I am no mage; I cannot offer an informed opinion. Julian?” The moondog sighed as the question finally fell to him. “I could take a look, but I am no enchanter, and living in the North has not provided me with an abundance of opportunities to inspect the Curse. Nasoj is not particularly talkative regarding the circumstances surrounding his greatest failure.” Despite his misgivings, Julian did take the short walk to the table to try his hand at seeking the cause of the assassin’s downfall. His expression was skeptical at best, but he allowed his magesight to come to the forefront and began to examine the spells that held the ermine. He remained focused for quite some time, but his inspection was far briefer than Lucy’s. He stepped away, shaking his head at his inability to discern anything useful. “I am a war mage, not an enchanter,” he said as he returned. “I barely understand what I am seeing in this tangled weave.” Lucy hardly seemed surprised, but Alex openly groaned in disappointment. “So… What do we do now?” he asked. “We keep trying,” Lucy responded, although she showed no great deal of confidence. “The Keep cannot help us now, not here, not during a quarantine. I do not know what mage in Hareford I would trust over my own experience. Perhaps Nestorius himself, but he has more than enough to worry about as it is. As difficult as the situation may be for us, it still affects only one person.” She walked back over to the table and withdrew her pack from the floor underneath it. She pulled several articles from within, setting them together on the table. Among them was a stick of chalk, a wooden bowl, and a bag full of other magical articles. “I hope no one intends to use this table for anything but magic in the near future,” she commented as she picked up the piece of chalk. She waved it before her for a few moments as though it could write on air, and then began to sketch expert lines on the surface of the table. Her lines were unerring in their precision, but also took quite some time to draw. “The two of you may wish to find something else to do for a little while,” she said, never raising her eyes from her efforts. Alex watched her work for a few minutes, but being unable to understand the focus of her efforts made it difficult to stay engaged. Although he did not know what she might be doing, he decided that it would serve him better to leave her to her efforts. Nodding a brief farewell towards Julian, he ventured out into Hareford. Perhaps he could at least discover what their role would be during the ongoing quarantine. --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus
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