Secret Messages Wednesday (18 Sep 2001) Tom confides with Agatha about his doubts and worries.

The Cunninghams' Front Porch
The covered front porch of the Cunninghams' cottage runs the full length of the house, fenced in by a redwood railing.

It's mid-day, and Agatha has returned home from her usual rounds out at the stables. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary today, a thankful break from the oddities that have been occurring as of late. Well, nothing new out of the ordinary; the fey Knightsteed, Souhait, remains a resident of Danzwycks' Stables.

As she makes her way up onto the porch of her home, a familiar voice catches her attention. It's Simon, and he's running toward her. Simon reaches her and stuffs an envelope into her hand, panting, "It's from Tom. He coerced me into being his messenger. He didn't feel it would be safe to send through the mail or leave for you." Simon grumbles softly, "He also said to hold the note over a light bulb before reading ... and don't look at me like that! You know how odd Tom can be at times. Anyway, I've got to get home; I think my uncle expects me to help with some chores at the house today." He waves, and then heads back out onto the street, back towards town and home.

A short time later, Agatha has opened the note, only to find a blank piece of paper. But, following Simon's advice, she holds it over the light bulb in the living room lamp. It seems like ages, but letters slowly start to form on the piece of paper. The letters are a light brown and a bit messy, as if written with a small brush. At last, the note is readable and it says:

Agatha,

   Sorry for the covertness of this note, but with the weird things going on, and the two visitors from Mirari, I didn't feel it would be safe to send this note through the mail. Nor did I feel it safe to make it easy to read, so it's written in lemon juice. From here on out, I intend to send notes this way.

   I want to meet with you to discuss what's been happening. Also, I've got a plan and I want you to be part of it. Simon has already agreed to help. Basically, we need to discover whom we can trust and what exactly is going on. Please do not say anything about this note around Souhait, nor around Elinor or Alice. Why? Alice, well, what I'm planning may be dangerous and I don't want her hurt. Plus, she's too trusting and might tell Elinor something, even by accident. To learn what I hope to learn, none of the Fey can know. I don't like being deceitful to Elinor, but if she's being truthful, I hope she'll understand why I'm not letting her in on this. So, meet me where our Pelles quest began, the quest for the Golden Hawk. I know you'll understand what that means.

Tom

P.S. Destroy this note when you're done with it. I don't want anyone else reading it.

Agatha hmms, and crumples up the note after reading it. "I wonder if he expects me to burn it?" Just in case, she throws the paper into the fireplace before leaving a note for her family that she'll be out, then straps on her sword and heads across town to the Gnarly Tree.

The Gnarly Tree
This tree seems nearly as wide as it is tall, a great mass of twining branches and leafy boughs unlike the conifers prevalent in the area, but resilient enough to weather Ainigton's cold winters. Within its boughs are many forks and nooks, and anyone properly nestled inside is granted considerable cover from prying eyes, as well as vantage-points from which to look down upon Ainigton and Danzwyck Stables, with even more majestic scenery beyond. A dirt path runs nearby, making this tree not entirely secluded from the paths of casual explorers of the wilderness, but it nonetheless offers considerable privacy for the adventuresome at heart.

Agatha comes up along the path towards the tree, looking from side to side for Tom. She's pretty sure this is the place he meant in the note.

It's quiet, aside from the occasional chirping of birds. Odd, perhaps Tom did mean someplace else. Or perhaps Tom has a screw loose. Or perhaps both. There isn't much time to ponder such ideas, as a slight rustle in the limbs above breaks into the silence. The rustle grows louder, then a wooden cage breaks through the lower leaves and branches and slowly descends on an array of four ropes. Tom's on it, manning a winch that's controlling the rate of descent. In a few moments, it comes to rest on the grown with a small thud. "Tada! Hey Agatha, I see you got my note," Thomas says, a grin creeping across his face.

Agatha gapes at the contraption. "This is where you're building your tree house? And yeah, I got your note. Smelled nice," she says, and follows the line up from the cage to the camouflaged bottom of the tree house.

Tom leans against the railing in the cage and says, "Yep! This would be the spot. Out of the way, large, and hard to see anything in it. I'm not that far along." He pauses to pat the elevator, then continues, "I've just got the platform and this thing built. Dad's been helping me. Simon too. Anyway, hop on in." His brow furrows and he looks at Agatha intently. "You did destroy that note, right?"

"Threw it in the fireplace," Agatha says and carefully gets into the cage.

Tom watches Agatha and waits for her to sit before cranking on the winch. The cage creaks slightly, then starts to rise, the four rope design limiting the sway and spinning quite well. "Was the fireplace lit?" Tom inquires, his green eyes locked on the girl.

"No, I wasn't going to light a fire just before leaving the house," Agatha admits. "But it'll get burnt when my dad gets home."

Tom sighs melodramatically. "Geez, you'll never make a good secret agent. You should've eaten the note!" He grins and glances out over the countryside moments before it disappears into a mass of leaves as the cage ascends. "I suppose you're wondering why I asked you here?" Tom inquires.

Agatha makes a face at the idea of eating a piece of paper. "No, you wanted to talk to me about something that you didn't want Alice or Elinor to know about. You said so in the note."

Tom nods and looks up, the platform looming closely above. He eases up on the winch cranking rate and lets the upper part of the cage slip into the opening in the floor. "Well, something like that. How would you like to raid Fairyland?" Tom asks, smirking slightly. "It's more than just that, but that's the basic idea," he adds.

"Uhhh ... raid?" Agatha asks, as if she didn't quite hear what she thought she did. "You mean go to Mirari?"

"More than just go," Tom explains, carefully easing the Elevator through the platform. A few moments later, it settles into place above a white painted floor. No walls yet, just a floor. He latches the winch securely and releases it. The cage jerks down an inch, then settles into place. "First floor, explorer's gear, clean floors, and sneaky raid plans! Everybody off!" he declares, grinning and slips out of the cage. He turns and faces Agatha. "It's like this: we can't really trust any side right now, right? Tristan may be lying, Elinor may be. I hope Elinor isn't, but I have to be realistic. We know next to nothing about her, realistically. What I'm proposing is an information raid."

Agatha frowns in thought as she extricates herself from the elevator cage. "Information? In what form? Even if we could cross through, we'd end up in lands controlled by October or April, and you've seen that October posts guards. There's a third source of information though, which I didn't mention in front of Elinor or Souhait."

"Which is?" Thomas asks, then adds, "And we can't keep treating this like a game. It's not anymore. This could get dangerous, fast. We have to start being very serious about it. Why I asked you to not tell Elinor is obvious. But as for Alice, she's way too trusting and I worry for her safety."

"And she can do magic, too," Agatha reminds Tom. "You and Simon are the only ones that haven't been contaminated in one way or other. But back to the other source ... it's the King: Richard Kuning, I'm pretty sure. Tristan told me the King's real name, Marc of Umbrecht, and that he fled with two shape-shifter servants, and Richard really got ... upset ... when I mentioned that name to him."

"He didn't deny or admit anything, but he did note that for a King to leave his position like that would probably require a pretty serious betrayal," Agatha says. "And neither Tristan or Elinor mentioned any betrayal."

Tom raises an eyebrow. "Oh really? How interesting." Tom shrugs slightly. "That would explain why the name 'Avarre' struck a chord with him that one day." Tom paces slowly over the floor, his footsteps echoing slightly. He turns and looks at Agatha. "If is him, we shouldn't endanger him. If he wants to remain hidden, let's leave him that way and not risk him. The reason I want to go in, just you, Simon, and I, is because, well, I have faith in your state of mind. You're aware and not easily fooled. Simon is quick and surprisingly agile. As for me, well, I have to know what is going on now. Any sort of outside information we get, such as from Tristan, Elinor, or even the King will be clouded, you know." He pauses for a moment and takes a breath, then says slowly, "I think we should see with our own eyes. Give us a direct view into what is going on. As my father's told me from his military days: there's always at least two sides to every story, then there's the truth. All sides we know: Elinor, the King, and Tristan may have misconceptions as to what is going on."

Agatha nods. "Well ... at least I can tell you that we need to bring winter clothes ... but I don't know how to get through a Siege ... especially undetected! And we don't even know where the fifth Siege is, the one Elinor and Rebecca used that's somewhere up the bus route."

Tom nods. "But, we do know where one Siege is, the one in the cave. Ryland uses it to pass through. We might be able to 'tag along'." Tom sits down, cross-legged, and says, "I just think we should try and observe all sides without them knowing about it ... to see how they act when not being watched ... to learn what their motives are. That's my idea, anyway. I was going to try to go alone, but Simon talked me out of it. I also intend to go armed."

"Armed with what?" Agatha asks, thinking back to the leaf-golems. "The toughest weapon I've got is a crowbar. I had a real sword to use against the monsters there the first time."

"Iron is supposed to harm the Fey, right? I figured I could buy a sturdy closet rod fairly cheaply and construct a staff. Then I was thinking of raiding the junkyard and finding an old iron pipe I cut and bolt around each end. Instant fairy-bane weapon," Tom explains.

Agatha licks her lips, which seem to have gone dry. "Well, yeah ... but I'd want to test that theory. Elinor doesn't seem afraid of iron; she rode in the bus without any problem. You'd have to attack the Scare Crow to know if they were any good."

Tom nods. "Well, remember, that's steel, not iron. It's iron that's contaminated. I'm sure we could find an old iron bar to craft a makeshift sword out of for you." Then Tom says softly and very seriously, "And if we need proof, I'll attack the Scare Crow. I don't like them planting dangerous things like that where any kid from this town could blunder into it. That's not terribly friendly."

With a sigh, Agatha nods. "I wish we could contact Lord Mel. We have to assume it's just as far from town to the Siege of Stone and Water on the other side as it is here, and that's a long way to go in dead winter. I mean, it's really cold over there! And there were a bunch of monsters on that side too, not just one dinky Scare Crow."

"Yeah, so do I. But, we can wish 'til we're blue and it doesn't change anything. We have to do something," Tom says.

"I shouldn't be so worried," Agatha says, laughing suddenly. "I mean ... just sneaking through when the door is open? Ryland vanished twenty feet above the pool -- there may not even be an opening near the ground ... and it would be over the water too. I wish we knew who else came through to help Elinor though."

"We'll deal with those problems as we come to them," Tom says quietly. "There has to be a way." He leans forward and rests his chin on his knees. A minute later, he sits upright and says suddenly, "Agatha, do you still have that flute? The one with the key on it?"

Agatha nods. "I still have it. I'd think it was for the Siege of the Forest though, since it had a vine or branch with leaves on it."

Tom taps his nose. "My thought exactly. So, if we can clear out the Scare Crow..."

"I can't help but think about Elinor's chest too," Agatha says, sounding serious.

"Do you think Alice would loan me her spell book for a day?" Tom asks. "I wonder if there are any wards against the Fey in it we could file into our weapons."

Agatha hmms, and shakes her head. "She'd want to know why you wanted it. And do you really want to try to work magic, Tom?"

"Well, I wouldn't be working it, per se," Tom explains, "Just using, you know, magic runes to amplify our weapons."

"That doesn't make any sense at all though," Agatha points out. "Iron spoils magic or something; that's why it's poisonous to faeries."

"Point taken," Tom says.

"Now, if you wanted to make wooden shields or something, then wards of protection would be handy," Agatha adds, smiling.

Tom muses, "I could probably ask Genji if he knows how to use a staff and maybe get him to give me a lesson or two. It'd at least not suck too much with it, then." He then grins toward Agatha and says, "And this is why I wanted you along. You add another good point of view."

"Aside from me thinking it's absolutely crazy to try and sneak into October's lands on foot?" Agatha asks, grinning.

Tom waves a hand. "Details. You see, that's why I'm lead explorer." He grins.

"Ah, because you already have your will written?" Agatha jokes. More seriously she says, "If we're found, they could shut down the passage and we'd be trapped there, you know."

"I know. And honestly, would it be a bad thing if Mirari was closed off from this world?" Thomas asks. He shrugs. "I could always go alone. I don't want to see people hurt here. Why do you think I'm so hard to Alice? I want to make sure she's safe."

"And one other thing..," Tom begins, tilting his head sideways and grinning, his green eyes lit. "Don't I look a bit like Elinor? From a distance, I might be able to pass for a resident of the House October lands."

Agatha nods, but says, "Still ... it would be handy to have someone that can cast spells." Then she throws up her hands and looks at the overhead branches. "We'll never get through anyway. But if we're going to try, let's try for the day before Ryland and Elinor are supposed to meet, okay? And you aren't as pale as Elinor."

Tom nods. "But from a distance, that would be hard to tell." He then shakes his head and says, "Sorry, I won't risk Alice's life. Nor will I risk the lives of those who do go by bringing her. She might run after the first magic creature she sees."

Thomas slumps down again, resting his chin back on his knees and says, "Honestly, I'd love to just get Elinor alone and talk to her. But, I'm just not sure I can trust her, you know?"

"Still, we have to assume Elinor can get us out of trouble from this end, if we're caught. And Ryland is our only link back to this world if we get stuck, and he talks to Elinor," Agatha reasons.

"If he would help us. And assuming Elinor is on our side," Tom adds.

"She seems eager to prove herself to you," Agatha says. "Maybe she'd show you any magic stuff she brought. Her chest was awfully heavy.... Who knows what she has in there? Maybe keys to all the Sieges."

"Or she might be trying to continue to use me," Tom says softly, his voice cracking much like the day he found out. "Gah, I think she cast a spell on me!" Tom grumbles, burying his face in his knees, "I turn to mush around her. I don't know why."

Agatha rolls her eyes. "Duh! Because you're fourteen, doofus!"

"So?" Tom inquires, voice muffled, and then he extracts his head from his knees to look up at Agatha. "I don't react that way around you," he points out.

"It just happens," Agatha says, shrugging. "My brother was the same way for a while, acting weird around any girl he didn't grow up around. And I'm not exotic like Elinor; I'm just part of the town, like everyone else you know."

Tom sniffs and says, "Plus, you smell like the horses you hang around -- phew."

Agatha's eyes go wide and she reaches over to bop Tom on the shoulder! "Watch it, Monkey-Boy!" Agatha growls. "Just 'cuz I'm not deformed yet like older girls ... grrrr!"

"Ow!" says Tom as he grabs his shoulder. "Hey, I say it like it is," Tom defends. "People often complain I smell like dust. Or my hair is too messy, or my clothes are too dirty, and so on."

"Well, horses smell better than grody boys anyway," Agatha counters, losing steam.

"So there!" Tom adds, laughing now.

Tom realizes something, then glares at Agatha and says defensively, "And Elinor is not deformed!"

"Uh, so back to the raid planning, right," Tom says quickly, trying to change topics.

"Now I have to wash my fist," Agatha sighs. "Anyway ... you know what I mean! And why are you suddenly defending her, hmm?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Tom mutters, looking at his knees. "So, you think we should bring Alice along, then? How would we keep her safe?" he asks.

"No, I don't think we should bring her along," Agatha says. "I just wished we could bring somebody along that could work magic. I was going to visit the junkyard soon to try and find that arrow, once I had time. I'm responsible for the Manor now until Richard gets back from ... wherever he's going off to."

"That's right, the Pelles quest! Mind if I tag along and collect some weapons material?" Tom asks, looking up at Agatha again. He rubs his neck. "Did I mention I've met the wizard Pelles recently? Odd fellow, very odd. So's Bragwaine."

"Sure," Agatha says, "so long as you don't talk too much and get us into trouble. And did you expect a wizard to be normal? Hey! I guess you have a familiar now, too!"

Tom cocks an eyebrow and asks, "How do I have a familiar?" He then crosses his arms and looks hurt. "Do I ever get us into trouble or talk too much?"

"Well, Simon brought me the note," Agatha points out with a grin. "What sort of animal are you going to turn him into?"

Tom face-palms, muttering, "Simon is not a familiar."

"Hmmm, well, maybe not in trouble, yet," Agatha says. "Is he a minion then?"

"'Fan' is a nicer term," Tom says with a grin.

Agatha laughs! "I'd prefer squire myself! A fan! But you're the one that blows hot air all the time -- you should be the fan!"

This time it's Tom's turn to reach over and whack Agatha on the shoulder. "Not funny," he says, glowering.

"Ow!" Agatha says, but still grins. "Heh, fans," she says again as she rubs her shoulder.

Tom crosses his arms. "And what's so funny about that?" he asks indignantly. "I happen to have quite a following among the younger kids. They love to hear about my adventures."

Agatha just struggles to keep a straight face. "Yup. Nothing odd about that."

Tom gets to his feet, looking irritated. "Well, fine!" he says, "I bring you to my new hideout to talk to you about a plan to learn more about what's going on and instead I get laughed at. Fine then, I won't tell you anymore of my plans, I'll just go do them. Just forget everything I've said. I'll figure out another way to tackle this on my own."

Agatha waves her hands. "Oh calm down, geesh! I'll help out, but I don't really expect anything to happen is all. Getting rid of the Scare Crow will be a big enough challenge, first."

Thomas looks only slightly placated, his arms still crossed. "We need to plan beyond that, though. We can't just keep wandering here and there. We need a goal. An objective, as my father would say," he says curtly.

"Well, that's what I was wondering about," Agatha says. "What is your objective once you get to Mirari? Find the library? We don't know who it's safe to talk to, and some of the people there ... don't even look like people."

"That's simple," Tom says bluntly, "Observe the people, observe the houses. See how they behave. SPY, RECONNAISANCE, INFILTRATE, WHATEVER! When we know more about them, we can figure out to do about them. Know your enemy as you know yourself, as my father once told me some old famous general said."

"Oh," Agatha says, not really understanding, but taking Tom's word for it. "What about disguises?"

"Steal clothes from the inhabitants," Tom offers. "Ideally, we'd never get that close to them," Tom points out. "Observe from hidden spots and from the distance."

Agatha blinks at that. "Whoa! Steal clothes? If we get over there, the idea is to get useful information, not turn the public against us!"

Tom shrugs. "Desperate times, desperate measures."

"That's not a very chivalrous attitude," Agatha grumbles. "You really think you can learn by watching people? They just seemed to be going about ordinary business when I was there ... what I saw of them, anyway. They didn't seem to be worried about the world coming to an end."

"Yeah I do. Remember, they were aware of you. If they didn't know you were there, they might have acted differently," Tom says. "You were a contaminant. I want to know what they are like, around just each other. I want to know which, if any, house we can trust."

Tom then raises a finger and says, "If you don't like Plan A, then there's Plan B. If all else fails, we destroy all Sieges we find. I bet I could find a way to collapse that crawlspace cave up in the hills."

"I wouldn't trust any of them," Agatha says, shrugging. "There'll be politics and junk that just get in the way of what we have to do, which is to stop The Year's End. I don't see how destroying the Sieges will help anything? They aren't the problem."

"At this point, they're using us as pawns. We can close our world to them to at least prevent that," Tom says firmly.

"And then watch it die with Mirari?" Agatha asks, looking stern. "You want to find out if you can trust Elinor or not, and I'm fine with that. But if we're going to Mirari, I want to find out as much as possible about the real enemy."

"If letting it die means saving our homes, our lives, our friends, our world, yes!" Tom counters, voice low. "And since you seem to know more than I, who is the real enemy?"

"The Year's End, of course," Agatha states.

"If there is such a thing!" he replies, "We have to find that out!"

"Right, and that's what I want to do if we go there," Agatha says. "There are at least twelve houses, not including the Royal Family, whom we don't trust either yet. Common folks will probably know more about 'myths' like the Year's End than they will about politics between all the houses, I'd wager. I'd want to talk to someone about it."

"To do that, we can't be seen as outsiders. It would probably have to be just one of us to go and talk. And even then, how?" he asks.

"I guess our best bet would be to find a house where one or more of us seem to blend in okay and go that route and talk to the people in their lands," Tom adds.

"It's winter there. I imagine people have to go collect firewood," Agatha says. "I could try to catch someone alone outside the city to talk to. I mean, we'll have to talk to people, otherwise you won't know which House you're spying on."

"Maybe, maybe not. There often are realm identifiers of some sort. Flags and such," Thomas says.

"I didn't notice any, but they might be separated by color scheme," Agatha says.

"And we don't have to know the house name at the time. Just separate by group and if any group stands out, make sure we note it," Tom adds.

"Okay, I think we'll end up improvising in the end, but it's something," Agatha sighs. "When do you want to hit the junkyard?"

Tom waves a hand. "Whenever you want to. I'm usually just here, working on my tree house. I've been kinda avoiding everyone."

"I may not be able to get away until later in the afternoon. Will you still be around here?" Agatha asks. "Just in case. I can probably get Toby to lock up."

"I probably would be. Or I can meet you somewhere. Just let me know," Tom answers.

Agatha nods. "All right, I can always call your fan club to get a message to you, until you get your own phone out here," she says with a grin.

"Ha ha," Tom retorts, "Only you and Simon know this location. You'd better not tell anyone else. I want to keep it a place where I can be alone, or go to when I need to be alone."

"Why would you need to be alone?" Agatha asks, curious. "Anyway, if I can't reach you, or you're gonna head somewhere else, call me at the Manor."

"A desire to be, Agatha. Sometimes it's hard to be around other people. Sometimes I just want the company of my own thoughts -- to figure out, to understand what's going on, how I feel, that sort of thing. I'd rather not burden people with that," Tom explains.

Agatha shakes her head and gives Tom a "that's nuts" look. "Okay, if you say so. Is there some way down from here that's faster than the elevator?"

Tom shrugs. "Climbing. This tree is pretty easy to climb down, lots of thick branches. Shouldn't take too long."

Agatha looks over the edge of the platform to plot a path down. "Okay, anything else you want to talk about?"

Tom shakes his head. "No. That's it. I hope I didn't waste too much of your time with my rambling."

"Just don't get me killed, okay?" Agatha says, and starts to climb down the tree. Before her head has dropped below the level of the platform though, she turns to Tom and asks, "Hey, want something really scary to think about?"

"As if I don't have enough to think about? Give." Tom says flatly.

"What if the only reason that I don't turn you to mush is because I haven't actually tried to yet?" Agatha says with a wicked grin, then disappears as she continues to climb down to the ground.

Tom can't help but laugh slightly. "Oh, get the heck out of here, Agatha, before I push you out of the tree," he threatens.

Agatha jumps down when she's close enough to the ground, and starts walking home.

Tom settles back against the trunk of the tree and sighs softly. "Is this what it's like, Marc?" he asks to the air. "Is this what it's like to try and lead? To look and see decisions you may have to make may not be pleasant, but necessary? To perhaps have to lose one thing you hold important, to save all the others you hold dear?" He shakes his head slowly and says sadly, "If that's what it's like to be a leader, then I can understand why you may have left. Maybe I'm fooling myself. Can I really lead them? Maybe I'm more fit to just be the hero of a bunch of kids, than to be a real leader. Can I really help keep it focused, to find a way to end this all well? I hope so. I guess I'll find out, one way or another." He pulls his knees up and hugs them softly, gazing out at the branches that surround him, wondering what the future holds for all of them.

Previous Log: Pelles of Caer Bannuac	Next Log: Jon's Junkyard

Thread Links
	Previous Log: Siege of the Woods Next Log: Jon's Junkyard		Previous Log: Going Up? Next Log: Sir Lefallon
	Previous Log: Siege of the Woods Next Log: Talk to the Animals		Previous Log: Pelles of Caer Bannuac Next Log: Cerberus Keep

---

This site serves as a chronicle of sessions in an online roleplaying campaign moderated by Conrad "Lynx" Wong and May "Rowan" Wasserman. The contents of this site are (c) 2001, 2002 by Conrad Wong and May Wasserman except where stated otherwise. Despite the "children's fantasy" theme of this campaign, this site is not intended for young readership, due to mild language and violence.