[Mkguild] The Illusive Chain: Ignorance (1/?)

[Azariah Wolf]

Finally, I'm ready to start posting part 2 of this story!  Sorry for 
taking so long.

-LurkingWolf

---

Link 2: Ignorance

The ermine opened his eyes to the familiar sight of a grey stone 
ceiling, dimly lit by a faint, flickering glow.Panic gripped him for a 
moment, causing him to bolt upright in the bed.As quickly as it had 
taken him, however, the panic faded.He remained cautious, but he could 
not divine the cause of his initial terror.

Now that he was sitting up in the bed, he could see that he was in a 
small but well-furnished room.He was sitting on a bed against the wall 
furthest from the only door.The cushion he was resting on was kept off 
the floor on a stout wooden frame, not particularly tall but high enough 
for the bed's occupant to reach anything atop the adjacent table.

On the table itself was the single guttering candle that provided the 
room's only illumination.There was a small pack sitting behind the small 
candlestick, likely belonging to the girl in the chair at the foot of 
his bed.She seemed to have been asleep until recently, as she looked at 
him only a moment before he first noticed her.

"Lois?"

The ermine's ear twitched at her voice.It took him a moment before he 
realized that she was talking to him.

"Lois..."The sound of his voice seemed odd, like his tongue and teeth 
would not cooperate the way he was used to.In fact, as he felt about the 
inside of his mouth, he realized that everything felt wrong.First, there 
was far more space in his mouth than should have been possible, second, 
and more alarming to him, his teeth were all sharp and pointed.

The panic returned in a moment as he raised his hands before his face, 
finding that they were now covered by white fur on the backs and strange 
black pads on his palms and fingers.Those fingers were shorter than he 
remembered, certainly capable of grasping and manipulating objects but 
still significantly reduced in their flexibility.His right hand also 
featured a tangle of ugly scars where once the flesh had been entirely 
unblemished.

In blind terror, the man swung his legs over the side of the bed, unable 
to see any unexpected changes due to the robe that hung to the floor as 
he stood.He looked about the room, hoping in vain to find a mirror.

"What's wrong?" the girl asked.She stood quickly and walked beside him, 
trying to make eye contact even as he glanced around erratically.

"What happened to me?" he asked.His voice still seemed odd, but at least 
the foreign feelings did not keep him from being able to speak intelligibly.

"A lutin shaman cast a spell on you to increase the effects of the 
Curse.It took us two days to discover how to change you back.Are you all 
right?"

The ermine turned to face her finally, gasping for breath in his 
desperation.Seeing her face, however, he came up short.There was a 
moment of confusion, and then a flash of recognition lit the man's face.

"Lucy," he said simply."Lucy, you're a mage!Tell me, why am I some sort 
of animal?"

This plea brought the girl up short.She looked at him incredulously for 
a moment, but a realization slowly dawned in her eyes.

"You don't remember?"

The ermine shook his head, his eyes pleading with her to explain his 
unexpected change of form.He continued to watch her, even as she stepped 
back and walked a small semicircle back around the room, silently trying 
to explain the happening to herself.

"What is the last thing you recall?" she asked slowly.It was beginning 
to dawn on her that the man they had rescued was an assassin.If he had 
forgotten enough to be terrified to find himself turned into an ermine, 
could that mean that he had likewise forgotten his decision to give up 
his former employment?

The ermine stared off into the ceiling to his right.His eyes darted 
about for a few moments, until he finally shook his head in frustration.

"I don't know," he admitted, returning his gaze to the mage standing 
before him."I remember, people, places...I remember events, but I cannot 
remember if I was ever there or if I simply heard of them from someone 
else.I remember you; I remember I met you after I came to Metamor to 
live..."He stopped, his eyes again darting for the ceiling."Metamor," he 
mumbled.

"Why is Metamor Keep important?" Lucy prompted.

"I came to Metamor because...Because it was home?No, I had only visited 
it once before.How could it be my home?"He grunted, clasping a fist to 
either side of his head."Why can't I remember?"His voice carried a very 
genuine degree of desperation.

Lucy rubbed her chin as she considered the same question."It must have 
been the spell somehow."She winced."Did we take too long?"

"There has to be something you can do to help me," Lois demanded.As 
Lucy's expression turned sour, he groaned again and paced around her.He 
drove a fist into the nearby tabletop, making the candlestick jump and 
wobble briefly, which earned a cautious glance from Lucy.As it settled, 
she returned to her considerations.

"Do you recall who you are?" she asked after some time.

Lois hesitated for a moment, but he nodded slowly."I do not recall 
everything, but I think I know enough.I am Vincent Lois.I am a patrolman 
for Metamor Keep.I have not been here long -- but everything before 
coming here is a blur."He winced."No, not a blur, I can't seem to pick 
out any details at all."

Lucy was cautious about taking him at his word without question, but he 
seemed sincere enough.He seemed lost, his eyes glancing about at nothing 
as he tried to find hint of the memories that continued to elude him.His 
breathing was erratic, and he occasionally hissed something 
incomprehensible under his breath.The clear stress in his face and his 
voice made it hard to even consider duplicity on his part.

The youthful mage made her way over to the side table, taking the pack 
and browsing briefly through it until she found a small book with soft 
leather binding.The first few dozen pages were occupied by a rather 
eclectic combination of nature sketches, annotated magical diagrams, and 
indecipherable lists that seemed to combine necessities that she 
intended to buy at market and snide notes to self.The mage flipped past 
those pages silently until she reached a blank sheet.

"Do you think you can still write?" she asked.

She gave Lois a small charcoal pencil, and watched as he looked at the 
blank page.It took him a few moments, but he slowly began to sketch a 
few letters, and before long the letters had formed an intelligible, if 
uninteresting, sentence.

"I have not forgotten my letters," he confirmed, looking at his work.

Lucy smiled."Good.Based on what I have observed, you seem to have quite 
a few memories," she noted."I would suppose that the best thing for you 
would be to write down what you can remember, and try to remember 
details about each particular thing.Memories exist as a chain, with each 
one connected to the last.If you can find those connections, you should 
be able to reconstruct much of what you have forgotten."

Lois looked skeptical, but he nodded."What will you be doing?" he asked.

"I need to tell the others that you have regained consciousness.When we 
first broke the spell, you acted strangely.They will be happy to hear 
that you recovered completely."She started towards the door, but 
hesitated."Do you remember anything about what you said then?" she asked.


The ermine shut his eyes and grimaced."I don't recall anything beyond my 
first few days within the walls."He glanced at one of his hands."Until I 
noticed that something felt odd, I did not even recall being Cursed.I 
remembered you, though, and we did not meet until after the Keep's curse 
changed my form.Are you sure that memories are like a chain?How would I 
remember the one and not the other?"

Lucy gave a smirk."I said it was a chain; I did not say that the chain 
was linked in a line.A memory from your earliest years may connect to 
something very recent.The links are caused by emotions and senses, not 
necessarily in succession of time."

Lois nodded quietly."I still cannot recall any details of regaining 
consciousness earlier," he admitted."I am sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Lucy replied."Once you have recovered your 
memories, I am certain that this mystery will be revealed as well."

She opened the door and stepped out slowly, even as Lois sat on the edge 
of the bed and began to look at the paper before him.He tried to think 
of someplace to start, even as the door closed and left him in the dark 
chamber alone.After a few moments of thought, he put the pencil to the 
sheet of paper and wrote a question.

"Who is Vincent Lois?"
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