<i>March 7, 708 CR</i> Julian was woken in the morning by an insistent tugging. At first he thought that someone was physically pulling on him, but as he slowly recovered his consciousness he recognized a distinct feeling that was slowly becoming familiar, that of his bond to Lucy being stretched to its limits.
As he expected, the young mage’s bunk was empty, and seemed to have been that way for some time. Groaning, he managed to slide off the bed that had been provided in the barracks’ common rest area. The cracks in the windows, all shut against the winter chill, still confirmed to him exactly what he suspected. The sun was still several hours from its own waking. The moondog shook his head and ran his fingers through the fur at the top of his head as though he still had human hair. How someone so young could bear to sleep so little and survive was well beyond his understanding. It took him little time to prepare himself for the day. Years with the wizard Nasoj had drilled discipline through his skull like a well-rehearsed catechism. Whether it was to gain favor with his superiors, or to seek opportunities to assassinate the man he claimed to serve, he had always taken pains to make brutal efficiency his most noteworthy trait. He never should have bothered; it was rumored that the dark wizard never slept. Even if that claim was false, his rest was taken behind magically sealed doors, doubtlessly leading to more and more numerous and sinister traps to fell those who managed to step beyond. He took a moment to be certain of where the bond led, but his initial guess was accurate. She had returned to the room where the ermine assassin would be kept until they discovered a way to reverse the spell that now bound him. Or, perhaps, until they admitted that there was no solution. He shook his head. Cynicism was too easy a trait to cultivate in the company of the Keep’s enemies. While he sometimes regretted the circumstances that had forced his abandonment of that post, he never once regretted the opportunity to live amongst friends again. The door to the room was shut fast when he arrived, and Julian rapped on the wooden surface twice to alert Lucy to his presence. He could not detect any movement on the far end of the bond they shared, so he gently pushed the door open and slipped inside. The room was a little chilly after the stove had been left cold for the night, but the chill was quickly being banished by the fire. Lucy had already prepared for the day, it seemed. The mage herself was standing at the table in the center of the room. She glanced up casually to observe who was entering, but it seemed that she had already determined the answer using their mutual bond. She turned back to the cage on the table shortly, watching its small inhabitant sniffing about warily. “I realized after last night that we forgot to find food for him yesterday,” she explained before Julian had ample opportunity to ask why she had returned at such an hour. “Thankfully I know a few things about what ermines eat, and the average Keeper’s diet is varied enough that finding something that he can safely eat was little trouble.” Julian nodded and watched the trapped creature for a few moments. It seemed that the ermine was wary of being handed food without having to hunt for it, but he was slowly beginning to gravitate towards the food out of desperate hunger. “Don’t treat him too much like a pet, or he might come to you expecting food even after we bring him back,” he cautioned with a touch of sarcasm. Lucy sighed and shook her head softly. “Please, do not even joke about that,” she muttered. “I know you were not at the Keep at the time of the Curse’s original casting, but after witnessing it myself, I find it difficult to tolerate even honest jokes regarding it.” Julian placed a paw on her shoulder to comfort her. “I am sorry for upsetting you,” he apologized. “You couldn’t have known without living through it,” she responded in a low whisper. “The curse was meant to be the final blow to the Keep before Her defenses could even be fully brought to bear, and as such it was intended to be very, very final. Nasoj is not one of those fools who stands above his enemy and gloats as they die to give them an opportunity to kill him with their last breath. Should anyone under his command try to do such a thing, I am certain that he would impale them both with the same spear.” “You credit him with the quality of mercy,” Julian said with some chagrin. “With what I know of him, the two would beg for something as kind as a spear before they breathed their last.” Lucy hissed bitterly. “When the Curse struck, the effect was instant. For a few brief moments I was aware enough to be confused. Then, nothing. There was nothing but oblivion as I became an outcast in my own body, forced to lie and wail as a babe while unfathomable chaos unfolded about me. With the defenders gone, Nasoj’s horde began to overrun the walls. “We all know the story from there; the countercurse was forged and the defenders fought back with all of their desperation and rage until the day was won. Many stories are hidden in those few words, but in the end I found myself thrust into an entirely new world.” She paused for a moment before continuing. “In the early days there were many stories about what the Curse could do, and of the limits of the countercurse were barely understood. Whispers suggested that some were never saved by the counterspell. Some said that some Keepers had left and wandered forests as mere beasts, others lost in Kyia’s halls as strangers in their own bodies, a few more weeping in nurseries… Never did I determine if there was any truth to the rumors, but with no chance of recognizing his face, it was a week until I found my father.” Julian winced. “I am sorry to hear that. At least you did find him at the end of it all.” Lucy nodded. “Yet there are others who were not so fortunate,” she admitted with evident sorrow. “Those who died in the battle could tell no one who they were. There are unmarked graves by the hundred to their memory, but many still do not know what became of their loved ones in those days. Some even still hope in those terrifying old rumors, thinking that perhaps their loved ones wander about the forests in ignorance of their pasts, perhaps to be awakened at the end by the return of some lost memory.” “Could the Curse truly do that?” Julian asked. Lucy shrugged. “The exact nature of the interplay between Curse and countercurse is unclear to me. The tangle of their weaves is so complex that I have heard it said that even the pantheon would have difficulty unbinding it. Is it possible that there are those who have remained fully Cursed? Perhaps, but I have never seen one myself.” “Are you certain?” Julian asked. Lucy began to answer, but then followed the moondog’s eyes to the cage at the center of the table. The realization of what he was saying struck her like a boulder from the sling of a trebuchet. “No mark of outside magic besides the Curse and countercurse, and yet he remains an animal… Could it be?” She danced about the table, shifting her vision to see the magic that bound the former assassin. She saw nothing that she had not seen on the day before, but now at last the pieces seemed to be falling into place. She quickly refocused her vision on the physical world. “If what you suggested is the case, no amount of prodding will reveal any anomalies in the magic that binds him,” she explained. “We need to start approaching this from another angle. Do you think you can find Balrog?” Julian nodded. “As I understood, his entire patrol is resting in the common bunking area. They should be easy to find; Balrog at least is distinctive enough to be very recognizable.” “Go find him. I don’t know exactly how to handle this, and the more magically-inclined minds we can fit in the same room, the more informative our discussion may become.” Julian did not wait for her to say anything more. He quickly departed from the room in search of the human mage, while Lucy began to rummage about in her pack in search of something. The moondog was correct in his conclusion; he was able to find Balrog with very little delay. The bunks in the barracks were actually quite empty with so many deployed to secure the valley during the time of the quarantine. Balrog was quick to prepare and Nathan, woken by his companion’s stirring, was ready even before the mage under his command. Julian also notified Alex of the breakthrough, but the lynx took his time to wake up, and even as Julian left him sitting on the edge of the bed he wondered if he would simply lie back down as soon as the moondog stepped around the corner. It was not vital for Alex to accompany them for the discussion, however, so Julian did not bother to check on him again before leaving with Balrog and Nathan in tow. They found Lucy waiting for them, a pot of tea sitting incongruously atop the wooden cage in the center of the room. She had evidently not been expecting Nathan to join them, but a fourth cup joined the three she had already prepared in moments, all filled with the same dark liquid that perfumed the air around it. Julian and Nathan took their cups with nods of gratitude, while Balrog sniffed at his skeptically before taking a sip of his own. He nodded approvingly and echoed the gratefulness of the others before he stepped back from the table to enjoy it with the others. “I heard that you had some sort of breakthrough,” he said. “What have you found?” Lucy explained her theory as the rest listened. Even Nathan seemed to be able to follow the discussion without much effort, and that allowed Lucy to finish her explanations very quickly. Balrog took one more sip of his tea after she finished, thinking through all that she had proposed. “It does sound possible,” he decided. “To be honest, however, I had always thought that the stories of people remaining in their fully Cursed forms after the countercurse had been cast were no more than legends. The nature of the interplay between the two spells would tend to favor the hybrid forms that we all wear.” Lucy conceded his point with a nod and a wave of her hand. “That may be true, yet all of us may adopt the forms that the Curse originally forced upon us with little more than a simple exercise of will. Perhaps the magic cast two nights ago forced him into the form of an animal, and with no similar exercise of will he has remained in that state.” Balrog nodded and twisted his beard over and around his thick fingers. “It seems almost probable,” he stated. “It is so far the only theory I have heard that accounts for the lack of magical influence with more than a wave of the hand. The question that remains unanswered, then, is why his mind was not returned to him. I think we can agree that this is the case?” Lucy nodded. “I have seen many Keepers take on the forms of animals for training exercises or purposes of utility, and the difference between these people and a person whose mind is completely lost becomes clear after only brief observation.” Balrog nodded. “I have noticed the same in my own observations. If there is no magic beyond what encompasses every other Keeper’s form affecting him now, then why has his mind not returned?” There were several moments of silence before someone spoke. It was Julian who finally did break the silence. “I do not mean to be pessimistic about our chances, but perhaps his mind is utterly overcome. Perhaps there is nothing left.” “Is that even possible?” Nathan asked, looking about the room. “Wouldn’t there have been signs before a man’s mind simply collapsed?” “One would expect, yes,” Balrog admitted. “Still, with so little certainty about anything, we have to consider any reasonable possibility. Perhaps…” He sighed, rubbing his forehead to stall for a few moments. “Perhaps destroying Lois’ mind was the intention of the spell. If Nasoj or his allies could perfect such a spell, he could quickly and totally defeat Metamor without even needing an army.” “No, that can’t be it,” Lucy insisted. “That, at least, we can confirm. Although Lois was the only one to show long-term effect from the spell, all of us felt the magic. Whatever was cast that night, it had a wide enough area of effect that it should have done the same thing to all of us.” “You failed to mention that before,” Balrog noted. He sighed and paced about the table, venturing closer to the stove that heated the chamber while keeping his eyes on Lois. “That complicates matters even more, but I would say that it makes your original theory even more likely.” “That is what I was thinking as well,” Lucy agreed. “If some people affected by the original Curse did not take their hybrid forms, it would parallel the effects of this spell among our patrol.” “If this theory is correct, is there anything we can do to save him?” Julian asked. “Lucy, did you ever hear what became of the Keepers you mentioned after the Curse?” The small mage shook her head with resignation. “Honestly, I have not even thought of the stories much since I found out that my father was safe,” she admitted. “I never thought they would be important.” Silence fell over the room as everyone present attempted to think of a way to apply their new theory. A few moments after it had begun, the silence was broken by the sound of knocking on the chamber’s door. The lynx on the other side did little more than grunt to Julian as the moondog opened the door, and took the cup of tea he was offered by Lucy with barely a look, downing most of it in one gulp before wincing at the amount of unsweetened spice in the flavor. Lucy chuckled quietly. “Rough night?” she asked. Her commander regarded her with an exhausted glare. “Why should it be easier to sleep in a bed of leaves on the forest floor than in an actual bed?” he asked. His tone was mournful, but was clearly meant in a very sarcastic way. “At least I’m up now. I’ll be more talkative once my brain joins my body in wakefulness.” He was filled in on the speculation that had circulated about the room during his absence, and he listened while taking his time to finish off what remained of the tea in his paw. He nodded in quiet thought as they regaled him with their theories, finishing his cup of tea just as Lucy finished her explanation. He scratched at the fur on his chin for a moment before speaking. “So, if he was forced into the form of an animal and has lacked the ability to change back, but was not magically prevented from it, could he not be similarly forced into his hybrid form?” Everyone in the room fixed him with an incredulous look. Alex noticed after a few moments, glancing like a trapped deer at an assembled pack of wolves. “What? I know I’m barely conscious at the moment, but if our enemy can force Keepers into their most Cursed forms by means of magic, why could the process not simply be reversed?” “That actually makes some sense,” Lucy admitted. “You don’t have to sound so surprised,” Alex griped, playing with the small cup between his claws. “I may not know how to cast magic, but I’m intelligent enough to make logical connections.” Julian chuckled and shook his head. “Is that even possible? I mean, it makes sense, but I’ve never heard of it being done, or even attempted.” “I don’t think it ever has been attempted,” Lucy confirmed. “It would be of barely any use to our enemies, and the only people in Metamor I can see using it would be a prankster here or there, and I doubt any common urchin would have the magical experience to even consider the attempt.” She paced around the room a bit in deep thought. Lois, still trapped in his cage, watched her go, likely hoping that she would provide him with something more to eat before long. “If we did attempt it, it could return him to his hybrid form, but what of his mind?” Balrog finally spoke up. “Well, our theory so far is that his mind was somehow weakened by the original spell. Perhaps, trapped in the form of an animal, it is simply more natural for him to think as an animal?” “I can confirm that from experience,” Alex replied. “While not to such an extent as Lois is experiencing, I can certainly say that instincts and animalistic actions are far more natural when I take on my feral form. I don’t know if it is related at all, but I cannot see a change of perspective as a negative influence.” “The question now is whether the attempt could harm him.” Nathan, who had been standing by the wall of the room listening in silence for quite some time, added his thoughts to the discussion. “No,” Lucy argued with a shake of her head. “The question is not whether the attempt could harm him; the question is whether it would harm him more than remaining as he is. With so little understanding of the spell that was used against him, I can only assume that the longer he spends as an animal, the less likely it is that he will be able to return to normal. If no one objects, I say that we should make an attempt a soon as possible.” Nathan scoffed incredulously. “You admitted mere moments ago that you do not even know if such a casting is possible. How can you go from that admission to recklessly creating a spell from scratch within seconds?” Lucy’s confident expression soured as the wolf objected. “Just because I have never heard of the spell being used before does not mean that I do not understand the theory behind the Curse well enough to conceptualize such a spell with little trouble. You seem rather intent on preventing any possible aid to Lois very suddenly. If I didn’t trust you, I would suspect that you stand to lose something from the reversal of this spell?” The wolf snarled at her implication. Despite the clear difference in size and the advantage of strength heavily leaning towards the wolf, Lucy stood her ground. The others in the room seemed frozen, waiting breathlessly for the two of them to make their moves. Although the moments stretched uncomfortably long, Balrog finally stepped between the two hostile Keepers. “We gain nothing from this argument,” he barked, staring at the wolf particularly. “We need to take action, or Lois could be lost for more than a few days. I will not allow that!” Nathan cooled slightly, but made no move to apologize. Instead, he spoke tersely to Balrog. “We need to discuss these matters privately,” he said in a growl. Without waiting for his friend to acknowledge his words he turned and stalked through the door. Balrog sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I am sorry,” he said, turning to the rest of the company in the room. “I do not know what he is thinking, but I assure you he means only the best. I will go see if I can determine why he is so agitated this morning. Hopefully the matter can be resolved quickly.” As the human stepped through the door to follow the wolf, the three remaining people in the room looked towards each other. “Should we follow him?” Julian asked. Alex hesitated, but slowly shook his head. “I believe you two have a casting to prepare? I suggest you begin, and leave the tension to the men who actually know one other.” --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus
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