[Mkguild] The Illusive Chain (15/?) my comments
Itwas still early evening when Balrog returned to the bunks where his companionshad been quartered. That Lois had wishedto rest so soon after a day such as this did not surprise him very much atall. He would have been far more shockedhad the ermine insisted on extending the day. As it was, he had little reason to worry about disturbing those who wereresting, since their number was so few. Hefound his commander crouched by their bunks, rummaging through the pack ofsupplies that he had carried during their previous patrol. Little remained of the consumables, and manyof the other contents would need to be thoroughly cleansed before they could beused. Whatever the wolf was searchingfor seemed to be eluding him, but he still managed a genuine smile when he sawthe lutin's approach. "Balrog,good evening! How fares thepatient?" "Hefares well enough. His memory remainsbadly damaged, but his mind is clear and I have seen some progress. I have no doubt that he will recover fullygiven sufficient time." "Whatsort of progress have you seen?" Nathan asked. Ashis commander closed the pack and returned it to its place under the bunk,Balrog replied, "He is beginning to recall small pieces of his past. They are fragments at best, but they arestill something – a bit of encouragement amidst a difficult struggle." Theblack wolf nodded, sitting on the edge of his bed as he listened. He cocked his head curiously at Balrog'sexplanation of the ermine's progress. "How large are these fragments that he is recovering?" heasked. Balroggave him an odd look. "They arevery small, perhaps a few moments of time. He recalls them well, however. Iasked him about one of the events that be recalled, and he was able to easilyrecount even his own thoughts during that time.” He shifted and eyed his commanderwarily. “Why are you suddenly sointerested? I thought you were opposedto the idea of him recovering his memory." Thewolf gave a conceding nod before explaining. "I worry about what he might remember, and how he might react tothe memories when they return to him. That does not mean that I do not wish him well during his recovery;quite the contrary, I expect I have more reason to be curious about hisprogress than do any of you." Heshifted his seat, allowing his tail a little more room to move. "Now, you say he is recalling briefperiods in good detail? That strikes meas odd. Memories rarely return in detailunless they are part of a larger epiphany. Memories are so interconnected that one rarely returns without bringingothers with it." >>>He's worried that he might remember too much? Balrogshrugged. "I know too little aboutmemories to truly say. What I will sayis that I trust Lois, and I trust that if he says that he does not remember, hetruly does not remember." Nathanwaved a paw and rocked back on the bed a little bit, removing himself fromanything that could be misinterpreted as a confrontational posture. "I do not mean to question your friend'struthfulness by my observation. I wasmerely making note of an anomaly I perceived in your retelling. As we both know, this entire situation hasbeen a maze of such mysteries, and we should consider any further oddity as apotential key to unraveling all those mysteries. If he has deep memories, but only of veryspecific events, we should consider the possibility that someone is veryspecifically choosing what they will allow him to recall." "Theonly one I would suspect of having any motivation for such a thing isyou," Balrog noted. >>>Wow - thats a harsh statement. "Andyet, if it would serve my purposes, you cannot discount the possibility ofanother party being similarly interested," Nathan countered. He gave a smile, the same predatory one heloved to use as he whittled through an opponent's defenses in combat. "The concerning issue is that they mayhave other directions for their efforts. I do not wish him to recall his past because I am afraid that he willrecall being an assassin and seek to return to that occupation. Another interested party may instead directtheir efforts at accomplishing exactly what I fear, stripping away any part ofLois that would resist such a task until he is just a pawn in theirhands." That is a dangerous idea! Balrogscowled at his friend's presentation of the disturbing possibility. Nathan was frustratingly good at playingDevil's advocate. "The one who castthe original spell on Lois is dead," the lutin finally responded. "Perhaps,but the loss of his memories could make him a tempting target to a sufficientlyskilled opportunist. Provided only thatthey could come by the information that Lois had been crippled in this way, itis not unreasonable to propose such a person could execute their designs on theman despite not having caused the affliction themselves." "Isaw no signs of such interference when I examined him earlier today,"Balrog offered
[Mkguild] The Illusive Chain (15/?)
It was still early evening when Balrog returned to the bunks where his companions had been quartered. That Lois had wished to rest so soon after a day such as this did not surprise him very much at all. He would have been far more shocked had the ermine insisted on extending the day. As it was, he had little reason to worry about disturbing those who were resting, since their number was so few. He found his commander crouched by their bunks, rummaging through the pack of supplies that he had carried during their previous patrol. Little remained of the consumables, and many of the other contents would need to be thoroughly cleansed before they could be used. Whatever the wolf was searching for seemed to be eluding him, but he still managed a genuine smile when he saw the lutin's approach. "Balrog, good evening! How fares the patient?" "He fares well enough. His memory remains badly damaged, but his mind is clear and I have seen some progress. I have no doubt that he will recover fully given sufficient time." "What sort of progress have you seen?" Nathan asked. As his commander closed the pack and returned it to its place under the bunk, Balrog replied, "He is beginning to recall small pieces of his past. They are fragments at best, but they are still something – a bit of encouragement amidst a difficult struggle." The black wolf nodded, sitting on the edge of his bed as he listened. He cocked his head curiously at Balrog's explanation of the ermine's progress. "How large are these fragments that he is recovering?" he asked. Balrog gave him an odd look. "They are very small, perhaps a few moments of time. He recalls them well, however. I asked him about one of the events that be recalled, and he was able to easily recount even his own thoughts during that time.” He shifted and eyed his commander warily. “Why are you suddenly so interested? I thought you were opposed to the idea of him recovering his memory." The wolf gave a conceding nod before explaining. "I worry about what he might remember, and how he might react to the memories when they return to him. That does not mean that I do not wish him well during his recovery; quite the contrary, I expect I have more reason to be curious about his progress than do any of you." He shifted his seat, allowing his tail a little more room to move. "Now, you say he is recalling brief periods in good detail? That strikes me as odd. Memories rarely return in detail unless they are part of a larger epiphany. Memories are so interconnected that one rarely returns without bringing others with it." Balrog shrugged. "I know too little about memories to truly say. What I will say is that I trust Lois, and I trust that if he says that he does not remember, he truly does not remember." Nathan waved a paw and rocked back on the bed a little bit, removing himself from anything that could be misinterpreted as a confrontational posture. "I do not mean to question your friend's truthfulness by my observation. I was merely making note of an anomaly I perceived in your retelling. As we both know, this entire situation has been a maze of such mysteries, and we should consider any further oddity as a potential key to unraveling all those mysteries. If he has deep memories, but only of very specific events, we should consider the possibility that someone is very specifically choosing what they will allow him to recall." "The only one I would suspect of having any motivation for such a thing is you," Balrog noted. "And yet, if it would serve my purposes, you cannot discount the possibility of another party being similarly interested," Nathan countered. He gave a smile, the same predatory one he loved to use as he whittled through an opponent's defenses in combat. "The concerning issue is that they may have other directions for their efforts. I do not wish him to recall his past because I am afraid that he will recall being an assassin and seek to return to that occupation. Another interested party may instead direct their efforts at accomplishing exactly what I fear, stripping away any part of Lois that would resist such a task until he is just a pawn in their hands." Balrog scowled at his friend's presentation of the disturbing possibility. Nathan was frustratingly good at playing Devil's advocate. "The one who cast the original spell on Lois is dead," the lutin finally responded. "Perhaps, but the loss of his memories could make him a tempting target to a sufficiently skilled opportunist. Provided only that they could come by the information that Lois had been crippled in this way, it is not unreasonable to propose such a person could execute their designs on the man despite not having caused the affliction themselves." "I saw no signs of such interference when I examined him earlier today," Balrog offered "And likewise, nothing when you examined him while he was trapped as an
