[Mkguild] Divine Travails of Rats - Pars III. Descensum (p)

[C. Matthias]

Sorry I didn't post anything yesterday.  Life ate me up.

Metamor Keep: Divine Travails of Rats
by Charles Matthias and Ryx

Pars III: Descensum

(p)


Friday, May 11, 708 CR


Charles gave Malicon his morning feed before heading toward the 
Mountain Hearth. A small crowd had gathered there that morning to 
surround the visiting Archduke, notably Baron Avery and his closest 
confidants. Charles sat near the entrance and smiled to Jurmas when 
he approached with one of his daughters clutched in his arms. "An egg 
and some juice will do, thank you," he said when asked if he wanted 
anything. The deer nodded and went to procure the requested meal.

The strange sort of disconnect he had been feeling finally 
disappeared as he studied the Hearth common room and its occupants. 
At one of the long tables on the other end of the room reclined the 
foppish pine marten who had helped them on their return. Surrounding 
him were Sir Egland and Intoran, Baron Avery, Angus the badger, 
Alldis the deer, and Berchem. Both Alldis the chief hunter for the 
Glen and Berchem its chief archer appeared bored by the conversation 
but both Avery and Angus were eager to meet with the archduke. 
Charles watched but did not bother to listen.

His eyes were drawn toward a small shape lurking in the shadows 
beneath the table. Golden eyes stared back at him from beneath the 
benches, ones he almost missed because of Angus' laughing bulk. A 
fox. Charles chuckled to himself and contented himself with waiting 
until his liege and friend were finished.

Jurmas returned with a small bowl with a fresh fried egg and a 
tumbler of berry juice. He ate without haste and sipped rather than 
drank. By the time he finished his meal Baron Avery was rising from 
the table, along with his coterie of chief men. Charles waited where 
he sat, smiling to each of the four as they walked passed. Berchem's 
return nod was polite but somewhat awkward; at least the malice he'd 
once sensed from the skunk was now gone. Alldis wished him a good 
day, but Angus lingered a moment to ask him a question.

"Malger is going to help me teach our scouts a lesson. Would you care 
to assist, Sir Charles?"

He smiled and finished the last of his juice. "Thank you for the 
gracious offer but I have matters to tend on my fief. You should join 
me there one day; I'd love to show you all that I've discovered."

"I will take you up on that offer," Angus replied, grinning widely 
with an array of short, sharp fangs hidden behind his jowls. "And you 
will help me train our scouts one day, oh knight of the Glen!"

Charles laughed and patted his friend on the shoulder. "Aye, I will. 
If it keeps me closer to home Lady Kimberly will approve."

"And how do you like your lands?" Baron Avery asked as his long tail 
bounced back and forth behind his head. The squirrel had a 
mischievous glint to his eye that reminded him subtly of Baron 
Barnhardt's careful but pointed questions. Once more he felt like a 
weapon being interposed between two feuding nobles.

"They are very beautiful and bountiful, your grace. I will be riding 
out there shortly to continue learning the land. But first I have one 
errand to tend to." He nodded his head in the direction of the marten 
who had not yet moved from his place between elk and oryx at the far 
end of the commons.

An old friendship to renew.

"And an old friendship to renew," Charles added as both Angus and 
Baron Avery turned to glance at the marten curiously. "He saved my 
life down south once."

Angus' smile broadened, and the rat could see that all mention of an 
errand had been forgotten. "That is a tale I hope you share with us someday."

"Aye, I will do that as well."

Baron Avery nodded and patted him on the shoulder, tail flicking as 
if shaking off dust. "Well, we shall leave you to your affairs. I do 
expect you to tell us about all that you've found in the Narrows. 
Perhaps there is more we can do protect that land."

"Perhaps," Charles admitted with a smile. He felt reasonably 
confidant that Glen scouts in the Narrows would provoke the 
Lakelanders to send troops of their own, but those were details that 
could be sorted later.

Once Baron Avery and his coterie had left the Hearth, Charles rose 
from his seat and walked toward the opposite corner where Malger 
waited. The pine marten smiled to him, waving him closer. "Sir 
Charles! It is a great pleasure to see you again. My congratulations 
to you on your investiture."

"Thank you, your grace," Charles replied with a slight bow of his 
head. "It was an unexpected honor, but I am grateful for it." He 
lifted his eyes and met the elk's warm gaze.

"We all knew you would become a knight," Egland said with verve and 
conviction. "You have a noble warrior's heart."

"Thank you, Sir Egland." He turned toward the oryx and smiled. "I'm 
sure it won't be long before you have felt the touch of blade on 
either shoulder and bear the title Sir!"

"A few years yet," Intoran replied a trifle self-consciously. "I have 
only been a squire for a year now."

"You are strong and accomplished. It will not be more than that."

You have something to ask Malger and it must be done privately.

Charles lowered his eyes and voice, allowing a figure of regret to 
mar his good humor. "There is a matter of personal concern I must 
discuss with Malger, his grace. I beg pardon, but it is something I 
can only mention when we are alone."

Malger nodded and stood from his seat. "I do not think we need fear 
Sir Charles bringing me to harm. If you would care to follow me, Sir 
Charles, I will escort you somewhere that we can speak without 
bringing temptation to idle ears!"

----------

If the little fox thought she was hidden from the rat's view, she was 
gravely mistaken. Charles said nothing as he followed Malger up onto 
the second floor of the Mountain Hearth and all the way to the 
northern corner and the well-apportioned room waiting there. In 
addition to the canopied bed, large chest for clothes, wash basin, 
and magnificent view of the Glen from an eastward-facing balcony, 
there was a stone hearth around which a quartet of rustic but 
cushioned chairs had been arranged. Malger invited Charles to take 
any he preferred and the rat selected the one with the largest hole 
for his tail. This he slipped through with the adroitness that eight 
years of having a tail had given him. Malger choose the seat next to 
him and the little fox secreted herself underneath. Charles pretended 
not to notice her.

Malger stretched his toe claws as he reclined, a lop-sided smile 
accenting the lop-sided hat he bore between his ears. "I see you are 
wearing the buckler you found in Sutthaivasse."

Charles lowered a claw and traced it over the sculpted brass ears of 
the rat-head buckle. "I thought you might remember it. I was quite 
surprised to find it. Not many lands would give the face of a rat 
such nobility."

"Some in my homeland are known for a," Malger paused as if savoring 
the taste of the word, or at least the thought suggested by it, 
"certain satirical wit. I expect you were the first to ever wear 
that; it had been in my family for at least two generations. The 
relation who had obtained it went to great lengths to ensure the 
giver of the gift gave no more gifts at all." His mischievous smile 
returned to one of pleasure as he added, "I'm glad it has found a 
home where it can be appreciated."

"You deliberately set it aside for me?"

Malger shrugged. "I may have mentioned it to someone."

"Well, in any event, thank you. I'm rather fond of it."

"I'm glad to hear it. So," he straightened some and his expression 
turned serious, "what might I do for you, Sir Charles?"

"You may have heard that while we were down south bracing Marzac my 
youngest son contracted an illness particular to those with my gift. 
This illness grew worse despite my wife's best efforts, and then 
claimed his life."

Malger took a deep breath and nodded, frowning. "I did. I am very 
sorry for your loss."

"He, Ladero, had the Sondeck as I do. None of my other children have 
this ability. He was very dear to me and it broke my heart to learn 
that he was gone. Not a day goes by when I do not think of him."

"I'm sure," Malger nodded, a grimace fixed across his lips. "But what 
does this have to do with me? I can do nothing about what happened."

The Aedra would not help you. But he does not follow them.

"None of us can do anything about what happened. The past is the 
past," Charles noted with a heavy sigh. "I have no intention of 
trying to change the past. But the future is before us and it is 
determined by our actions. My family... I would do anything to 
protect my family."

"I'm glad to hear it," Malger replied. "You have a lovely family to 
protect. Your children are adorable."

"You've seen them?"

"At Long House during the quarantine." His eyes darkened. "You still 
haven't explained what you want from me."

In a moment. He must first know how your son died.

"In a moment. You must first know how my son died. It was late 
October and he was bed-ridden. Garigan, my pupil in the ways of the 
Sondeck, knew something terrible was happening. He could feel the 
tear in my son's Sondeck. It is hard to describe what it is to those 
without our gift, but imagine a knife inside your flesh, jabbing and 
cutting you apart from the inside out. That is what my son suffered 
from, what Garigan tried to save him from, and what ultimately killed 
him. Lady Kimberly... my wife, could not bear to tell me what my son 
looked like when they buried him. She didn't need to."

Charles felt tears brimming in his eyes. Malger offered him a 
handkerchief which he took and dabbed his eyes. "Thank you. I have 
never seen it myself, but I have heard tales of it from my homeland. 
It is as if something has clawed its way out of your flesh, bursting 
from within to leave you a bloody ruin almost beyond recognition. It 
is a way to die I could not wish on my greatest enemy and yet it 
happened to my son and I could not be there to try and protect him 
from it." He dabbed his eyes again and shuddered.

He was stolen from you.

"My son Ladero was stolen from me, Malger."

And the Aedra who compelled you to go to Marzac did nothing to save him.

"And even Akkala would do nothing for him. Oh yes, Lady Kimberly 
summoned the Lothanasa in hopes that they might heal our boy. But 
they did nothing. And before my wife's stricken eyes she saw her son 
die. She still cries uncontrollably whenever he is mentioned."

This one has seen terrible suffering in the Bradanes refugees and in 
the Keeper's captured, caged, and paraded as freaks. He did not 
withhold his hand from their aid.

Charles nodded toward the marten and then briefly glanced at the fox 
hiding behind his legs. "I know you are a good man, Malger, and you 
do not withhold your hand from those who are suffering if there is 
anything you can do to aid them. I know this. The fox beneath your 
seat is proof of it."

Malger grimaced but slowly began to nod, shifting his legs some even 
as the little fox scooted back out of sight. "I have helped some, 
aye. And I am terribly sorry to hear about what you and your family 
has been through. But I still do not know what you want of me."

Speak first of your wife's needs; it is best to allay his misgivings.

"Father Hough has assured us both that our Ladero is now in Eli's 
hands. But two wounds remain in my family. My wife's last moments 
with our boy were filled with sorrow and anguish. Can you imagine her 
suffering? She had to watch her boy literally torn apart and there 
was nothing she could do. Everything she tried ended in failure. She 
even called on the Pantheon for aid, something that we as Followers 
are not supposed to do. But nothing helped. She needs to know deep in 
her heart that he is well. Father Hough's word is not enough. Some 
token to assure her, to heal her heart is required."

Malger opened his mouth to object again but Charles lifted one hand 
and bid him wait. "The other wound is mine, Malger. I wasn't there. I 
spent four months after he died pondering how I would teach him when 
I returned to Metamor. I had no idea. I have my lost son without ever 
once being able to say goodbye to him. And there is no way that I can 
without aid. That is where you can help me, Malger."

He will not wish to.

And as expected, Malger, rather agitated, shook his head. "No, 
Charles, I cannot help you. You do not even know what it is you are 
asking of me."

"You are a servant of Nocturna," Charles gestured at the crescent 
moon medallion. "You have ways that are mysterious and hidden from 
men. Even learned men, those who walk in the light of their gods and 
wield the powers of the world as a smith a hammer!"

"I can walk in dream, aye, and I have striven far too little to 
maintain that secrecy I can send omens, lighten the horror of 
nightmares, such things at that. Perhaps I can help Lady Kimberly 
ameliorate the pain of that grief, for it is truly the sharpest of 
blades and cuts the deepest. But that is all. I cannot bring the dead 
back to life."

That is not his job.

"That is not what I am asking you to do." Charles leaned forward, 
claws trembling. "And what I am asking you to do I know that you can 
do. You've done it before. For Murikeer." Malger stiffened and his 
eyes narrowed. "He told me about what you did for him, bringing 
Llyn's soul back for one moment in a dream so that the wounds struck 
in the moments before her death could be healed. I am asking of you 
the same thing. Bring my son back for just one dream, so I can say goodbye."

Do not forget your wife.

"And offer my wife a token showing that he is truly well and 
protected by Eli, that he no longer knows the pain that she saw him 
suffer. This one thing will heal the wounds in our family, so that we 
can move on from this grief, and be the better parents our children 
need, and deserve."

Malger took a deep breath and then ran his tongue along the back of 
his fangs. "You are asking for more than you know, Charles. What was 
done for Murikeer... there was a price for that. It was a gift from 
me because I had loved Llyn as well. I cannot do the same for you. 
There will be a price that you and Kimberly must pay to enter the 
dreams, and another to pay if you wish to see Ladero, something I 
cannot promise will happen. I cannot even promise that a price can 
even be paid for this! It is not up to me."

It was done once. Why not a second time?

"You've done it once. Why not a second time?"

"It is complicated. I do not even know what Nocturna did to bring 
Llyn's soul back to say goodbye! But," Malger held up a hand and bid 
him wait, "I will ask. I can see the pain this has caused you and I 
will at least ask. Can you wait until tomorrow to learn whether or 
not this is even possible?"

A day's wait is another day's agony. But it will grant you strength 
and resolve to do what must be done.

"I can wait another day."

You have already waited so many.

"I have already waited so many." Charles grimaced and shook his head. 
"It is an agony to me, but I will wait to hear your answer tomorrow. 
If it is yes, what will we need to do?"

"I will need to bring you and Kimberly into the dream so that the 
price can be agreed to with Nocturna. You do realize that it is 
Nocturna to whom you ask this favor? I do not believe a Follower such 
as you are to have any rapport with her."

"That is my choice," Charles reminded him. "And for that reason, I 
ask you to keep this to yourself."

Not even your wife must know.

"Do not even tell my wife. Lad Kimberly... if she knew what I 
intended, would be heartbroken all the more if it failed. Whatever 
price must be paid, I shall pay it alone. Only then can we bring her 
in; only when it is successful."

"I do not even know how I would go about that!" Again, Malger held 
out his hand to stifle his objection. "But I promised that I will ask 
and so I shall. I will convey your request in all its particulars and 
will tell you the answer and what must be done tomorrow morning. Are 
there any other details I should know?"

"Only that I ask this because I see no other recourse to ease the 
wounds we have suffered."

"Most families lose children to sickness," Malger pointed out. "Few 
if any ever have this chance, Sir Charles. The cost asked of you may 
be more crippling than any wound you feel now."

No, it won't. There are many ways payment can be made.

"There are many ways payment can be made. I hope that we can find one 
suitable that will not be as fearsome as this." Charles took a deep 
breath and then shifted in his seat. "That is my request, your grace. 
If I have your leave, I must see to me duties in the Narrows so I can 
return home before the evening meal is served."

"Of course. Go in peace, Sir Charles. May you and your family walk in 
paths of light."

His whiskers twitched at the suggestion, but no reply came through 
his lips. As quietly as his claws would allow on the wooden floor, he 
departed, the hope of seeing the hooded face of his youngest son 
kindling his heart into a radiant plume.

You will see him again.

"Aye," he whispered under his breath on his way from the Inn. "I will."

----------

May He bless you and keep you in His grace and love,

Charles Matthias
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