[Mkguild] The Illusive Chain: Coincidence (3/?)

[Azariah Wolf]

This part directly continues the previous post.

-LurkingWolf

___

Alex arrived in the private room first.It had been set aside for their 
use when the situation was explained.With Outpost's denizens preoccupied 
with other things, it would likely be up to the mages in the patrol 
itself to do what they could 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 had 
been used to capture the ermine sat in the center of a rough-hewn wooden 
table.The cloth that had been used to cover it was still in place, 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 one to approach the cage first, 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 that 
the gem make 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 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 it, so 
it could not simply have been specifically targeted at him.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 unphased 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' curse 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 as a trapper, 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 warmage, not an enchanter.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 here, not with the 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 ground 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 for a little while longer, but being unable to 
understand the focus of her efforts made it difficult to stay 
engaged.Although he did not know what it might be, he decided that it 
would serve him better to leave her alone for a little while.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.
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