(28 Dec 2001) Agatha is suspicious that she and the others are being watched....
NOTE: Tom should not read this log!
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The Eavesdropper
(28 Dec 2001) Agatha is suspicious that she and the others are being watched.... NOTE: Tom should not read this log! |
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The Parlor of October
Though that's what the servants called it, parlor doesn't seem the right word for this chamber. It feels open and yet intimate, as if a glen from a forest in Autumn had been transplanted into the center of a house. Vibrant-leaved trees ring the room, growing overhead to form the ceiling, while a fire blazes on a hearth at the center, its smoke whisked through a gap in the trees overhead. Cunningly crafted chairs look reminiscent of carved boulders, though they're as comfortable to sit in as favorite recliner. On one rocky wall, a real waterfall burbles down, its water wending through a channel cut in the floor -- which is otherwise carpeted in plush, moss-like greenery -- and out through a hole in the far side.
After Lord October's proclamation, a stunned silence descends upon the room, unbroken save by the splashing of the waterfall into the stream. The antlered man waits before Alice, still kneeling, while his handmaiden, Yseult, openly stares at the little blond girl. For the moment, the adult woman is too surprised to do anything else.
Agatha blinks at the pronouncement, and turns her head to look towards the stream near the far wall, thinking she heard a splash.
If any of the others heard a noise, they show no signs of it. Yseult brings a hand to her mouth, then shifts from her chair to kneel to Alice, following the suit of her lord. She murmurs, "Your highness," and bows her head.
As Agatha watches, the stream pools around the hole leading out from the wall, water backing up for a moment. Then the momentary eddy clears, and the stream's flow continues untroubled. Perhaps it was just a surge in the water from the fall.
The little blonde girl looks taken aback by the small show of ceremony. She looks between the lord and his handmaiden, blinking, lips barely moving as if she had wanted to say something but lacked the words. After a time she settles her eyes on the antlered lord, smiles and rises, extending a hand to both of the kneeling fey bidding them warmly, "Nay, rise."
Bowing with those antlers is quite a skill, Agatha thinks, turning back from looking at the stream.
They do so, presenting an odd picture, tall fey folk who loom over the small seated girl. The Lord of October remains near her, studying the young girl's face intently, without speaking.
Clearing her throat, Agatha risks breaking the mood to ask, "Uh... you don't keep any frogs or fish in this room, do you?"
October turns to Agatha, dark brown eyes focused. "No, my lady," he answers, "I do not. Naught lives in this stream. Why do you ask?"
Alice blushes faintly, the large folk and their intense attention seeming to cause her a touch of discomfort. Her gaze trails off to Agatha whom she watches but does not seem to see -- for her expression turns thoughtful, and her nose wrinkles a little. "T'would seem to me long have I been forgotten, and verily, much I do not know." She blinks, then nods a little.
"Because... well, I think something just jumped into the water and swam out over there," Agatha says, pointing towards the gap in the wall. "The water even backed up for a moment, so I figure it was something big."
The antlered man follows her arm, a frown deepening on his brow. "Let us see how quickly it swims, then." He strides to the door, throwing it open, and commands in a deep, carrying voice, "Guards! Check the stream in the left chamber!" Not content to merely issue the order, he walks to the hallway outside, motioning for the girls to follow, if they choose to.
Agatha gets up and follows, just to make sure she wasn't seeing things.
Together, they walk to the adjoining chamber -- by the sounds of it, there were guards already before that door, and they are scanning the stream that runs through it. One of them is kneeling by the downstream end and sieving his fingers through the liquid, while the other runs the tips of his pole arm through the shallow stream, walking his way down to his fellow with his eye on the water. This room is almost an enclosed courtyard, with bushes against the wall where the stream emerges, and flowers lining the sides of the stream. The far wall is glassed over, morning sunlight glinting through.
The littlest of the girls looks on after the departing lord, then to his handmaiden, and stands from her chair. She follows along beside Yseult, whispering, "Miss, 'tis not proper to worry so, is it not? I think I worry now, to be sure, of Lord October and of other things."
Deciding to look where the guards aren't, Agatha searches for wet spots where something might have crawled out of the water.
Lord October sweeps the opposite perimeter, while Agatha checks first by the stream near the wall adjoining the parlor. She sees a few splashes on the right side, by the wall, and a space where it looks like the bushes have been moved recently -- and what looks like the print of bare toes in the earth near the stream.
Agatha crouches down to look more closely at the bush, without getting too close, just in case something is still in there. "I think I might have found something here," she says out loud.
The antlered man quickly turns to join Agatha, waving to the pair of guards checking the stream to carry on. Another couple have since entered the room, and they fall in behind their lord.
Twin brown eyes look back at Agatha's fearfully, hidden just beneath a layer of leaves.... Wait, those leaves don't match the rest of those on the bushes, but they do match a boy she'd spoken with earlier.
"Hey," Agatha says to the bush. "What're you doing in there? The doctor wanted to see you. Come out."
Teirtu, looking pale, stands slowly. "Um, ah, milord, it's not how it looks!"
The Lord of October glowers at the young man, while two guards advance to flank him, though they do not take hold of Teirtu -- yet. "And what, do tell, is it? For I tell you now: it looks very bad indeed. I ordered this chamber cleared some hours ago." He takes a moment to direct a glare to the guards who were searching the stream.
The guards hunch their shoulders, looking guilty. "We did clear it, my lord!" one protests. "There was no one in here."
"Meaning he snuck past you while you were supposedly guarding the door?" October asks, pointedly. The guards look further rebuked, shrinking underneath his glare.
"I was just trimming the bushes in here, milord," Teirtu says, wringing his hands. "I must have been bent over low and they must not have seen me behind these bushes." He looks over at Agatha hopefully.
Agatha looks at one of the boy's hands, which is dripping. "How did your hand get wet?" she asks Teirtu.
The guards stare at Teirtu. "We called out that the lord was ordering the room emptied!" one says after a moment, looking offended. "Why did ye not come out then?"
The leaf-haired boy blinks innocently, though now he puts his hands by his sides, laying them on his clothes. "Ah, I was just washing my hands to clean them off after all that work, milady. And I'm very sorry, sir, but I didn't hear it. I'm told that I can get very intent on my work."
"He doesn't look like he just went for a swim," Agatha admits. "Did you see or hear anything in the water, though?" she asks the boy.
"We shouted it three times!" the talkative guard protests. "Didn't we, Cedric?" He looks to his fellow for support.
Teirtu shakes his head at first, then pauses as if trying to recall. "Do you mean, like a silvery sort of water snake?"
Looking from his men to the gardening boy, the Lord of October's eyes narrow. "Where are your hedge trimmers, boy? And what is your name?"
"Ah..." Teirtu starts to wilt visibly under the intense scrutiny. "I don't use hedge trimmers, milord, I, ah, just hand-prune the twigs. S'why my hands get dirty. And my name's Teirtu, milord."
Narrowing her eyes, Agatha asks, "Why were you hiding if you didn't know the room was supposed to be cleared out, Teirtu? And did you really see a water snake?"
"Ah, because I heard Lord October shout for guards, and I wondered if I had done something wrong, like I'd slept -- er, worked right through something important," Teirtu says, looking more worried. "As for water snakes, well, they're crafty things, I've heard. Look just like the water but they can give you a bite if you're not paying attention."
The girl just shakes her head and purses her lips. "I've babysat enough to know when someone is fibbing to me to avoid punishment, and I think you're fibbing about seeing a snake. If you've been trimming the bushes by hand, what did you do with the trimmed twigs? Eat them?"
Lord October says, "Enough. Guards, apprehend the boy. Bring him with us to the parlor. I mislike leaving ... your companion alone, at this time especially, my lady."
"Of course, Lord October," Agatha says.
Teirtu seems increasingly nervous, but cannot do more than open his mouth to stammer an "Ah, I, ah, well, they are pretty -- " before Lord October's pronouncement silences him. His eyes widen, and then he hangs his head, accepting his fate.
The guards lock hands around the boy's arms, marching him, none too gently, in the wake of Lord October and Agatha. The antlered man leads the way back to the parlor.
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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.