The Worlds of Katherine Kurtz

Jerusha, I so love that unexpected admission from Jimmy. It totally took me by surprise.

Lord Washburn is not the only Deryni to send a mental call to Sir Iain Cameron. As usual the calls are short, so they are not distracting in most cases, and full of information.

"We are tracking several leads on Custode Priests in the city."

Thursday morning
Grecotha

"You can pick this up tomorrow afternoon. I'll clean it up and replace the cover. It will be suitable to return to Lady Gwendolyn." 

"Thank you," Jimmy responded. "I'll be back tomorrow."

Jimmy Taylor of the Purple Guard turned away and made his way through the market. After his conversation with the bishop, he had stopped briefly in the barracks to retrieve the muddied book he had found and began a search for who had purchased it. He had been surprised that a bookseller remembered it, but since it had been purchased by Lady Gwendolyn, a frequent visitor in search of interesting tomes, he had been in luck.

The time spent visiting the booksellers—and there were many serving the university students and faculty—had given Jimmy the chance to consider how he should approach Philip. Judging from Philip's demeanor as he left the bishop's palace, Jimmy felt certain the bishop had told him something of Sir Airich's report.  How much remained to be determined.

Speak of the devil. 

Philip stood in the center of the market, surveying the scurrying populace. A brief break in the heavy rainfall had encouraged the return of people to the streets to accomplish anything they needed to do before the rains started again. The break would not last long; the sky was already beginning to spit at them.

"Philip! Well met!" Jimmy called as he approached Philip. Philip did not look pleased.

"Not now, Jimmy; I'm busy," Philip said as Jimmy reached him.

"You look like you are looking for someone," Jimmy said cheerfully. "Can I assist you?"

"I doubt it. I'm looking for a liar."

"Well, we often do that, don't we? Anyone in particular?"

"That poor excuse for a knight, Sir Airich O'Flynn."

"Why, so am I!" Jimmy said as the spitting sky turned back into pouring rain. "Let's find some cover and we can compare notes." Philip gave him a withering look, but followed.

Owners were shuttering their stalls as Jimmy led Philip to the roofed entry of a tavern. The entry was empty, and others scurrying for cover avoided sheltering with two Purple Guardsmen.

Philip turned to face Jimmy. "Why are you looking for Sir Airich?" he asked, the tone of his voice demanding an answer.

"I need to ask him a few questions on behalf of Bishop Bernard."

"What about?" Philip's voice sharpened as he grew suspicious. "And why you?"

"You may or may not know that the investigators think they have discovered who the remaining Willimite cell leaders are. Sir Airich reported their findings to the bishop first thing this morning.  The bishop has grave doubts about one of those accused..."

"I should think so!" Philip interrupted.

"Ah, so you are aware," Jimmy gave Philip a level look. "Sir Airich lost his warrant over that."

"My loyal service to this university and Bishop Bernard is above question. To be accused by that young upstart is unforgivable." Philip spat on the ground, missing Jimmy's boot by a narrow margin.

"Oh, don't be too hard on him." Jimmy turned his gaze from his boot back to Philip and said calmly, "I'm the one who accused you of murder."

"YOU WHAT?"

Philip reached for the hilt of his sword, but there wasn't enough room in the entryway for him to draw it. Jimmy intended to keep it that way.

He looked directly into Philip's eyes. "I'm the one who discovered the bloody rag you stuffed into de Nore's mouth when Callum and I retrieved his body. That was not an accident."

"De Nore was murdered, aye, by evil Deryni magic!" Philip returned hotly. "Magic performed by that not-so-upstanding Deryni knight!"

"I don't believe the knight is the one who stuffed the rag in so tightly that de Nore could not breathe." Jimmy's gaze did not waver.

"The man was suffering; I gave him the coup de grace out of mercy. No one should suffer at the hands of a Deryni!" 

Jimmy had been careful to do nothing more than truth-read the man before him. He did not want  to raise any suspicion that he could do more. It was clear Philip truly believed his actions were that of mercy. Mercy to end de Nore's suffering. From his point of view, Philip was telling the absolute truth.

"The bishop will be very much relieved when I report that to him."

"I think we are finished here," Philip said curtly.

"I'm glad we have cleared that up, and I can move on to the other suspects." Jimmy moved as if to allow Philip to leave. "Bishop Bernard is steadfast in his belief in your loyalty.  Can I also add that you are not a Willimite leader, or even a supporter?"

"Of course I'm not! Now out of my way!" Philip shoved the shorter guardsman to the side.

Finally, a lie.

Philip stopped just before leaving the entryway. "Why did the bishop task you with this?"

"You would have to ask him that," Jimmy responded. "I just do what I'm told."

Philip gave him a long look, but finally moved on.

Hopefully I've set the cat among the pigeons. Jimmy drew his cloak closer around himself in preparation for moving back out into the rain when the call from Lord Washburn came.

With a sigh, Sir Iain Cameron slipped back into the entryway and responded in kind.

Glad to see Gwendolyn reasserting herself, and very helpfully, too!

Quote from: Laurna on January 17, 2025, 03:04:46 PM...And then I have another scene all ready to go after part 3 this posted.

Laurna's been making up for a slow holiday season.

Quote from: Bynw on January 17, 2025, 03:00:06 PMWhere is part 3 .... .

I believe Jerusha wanted to make a post that happens before part 3 of this scene. And then I have another scene all ready to go after part 3 is posted.

Where is part 3 .... .

Continued from previous post

The rain was coming down hard now, and no one was on the streets to notice them as a fourth hooded woman joined their group. As Gwendolyn had suspected, two letters-of-warrant were enough to convince the guards to admit them unquestioningly into the barracks. They were escorted down to the lower level where the prisoners were held.

"Let me do the talking," Gwendolyn whispered to the Carbury women. "Please watch and listen in case I miss something important."

The man, presumably carpenter Adam, looked up from where he sat on a narrow bench, ankle chained to the wall. He grinned wolfishly when he realized his visitors were all women, but when the door closed behind them and Gwen dropped her hood, his grin dropped as well. His eyes grew wide with alarm.

"Hello, Adam," Gwen said, confirming the man's identity for Amy and Elspeth. "I'm delighted for the opportunity to speak with you again. Our last conversation was cut short so suddenly."

"Grymalkin," Adam sneered. Amy detected the false bravado of his words. "You seem to be flourishing since the treatment that Baz and Englebert gave you."

"Oh, I am at that," Gwendolyn said, "and I'd like to talk to you about that treatment."

"That was their doing," Adam insisted. "I told them to be gentle-like, but they didn't listen to me."

"Oh, I'm sure you did," Gwendolyn purred, "but they're dead now and you're still alive. Which is unfortunate for you." The woman gestured, and a tongue of flame jumped from the lantern to Gwendolyn's palm, where it danced and flickered wildly. "I have need of answers." She wound her fingers around the flame and stretched it out, playing with it like a piece of yarn. It seemed to respond to her touch lovingly.

Amy blinked at the flame, then blinked again. She was almost positive the flame was an illusion and not real fire. Adam obviously did not realize this. The panic on his face would have been terrible if he hadn't brought this upon himself. As if he suddenly realized the nature and true power of the woman he had dared kidnap.

"Who decided that I should be the one that your cell abducted?" Gwen asked.

"Frank and 'bert, they were in charge," Adam said. "They made the decisions, and they wanted to use my place, so I'd get blamed if we got caught. I told 'em it was a bad idea, but they ignored me."

He's lying, Amy told Gwendolyn, unsure if the other woman had noticed.

"I don't believe you," Gwendolyn said, and flicked little droplets of flame onto Adam's jerkin. He frantically slapped at them. Upon seeing his frenzied movements, Gwendolyn splashed the tiny droplets onto his face. Adam cried out and slapped his own face repeatedly, trying to douse the non-existent sparks before they burned him.

"Come now, my Lady, is this truly necessary?" Elspeth asked.

Amy put her hand on her closest friend's arm, and whispered into her mind. It's illusion, Speth. Almost like hypnosis. That flame is not real and will not harm.

Gwendolyn chuckled. "I suppose it's not. But it is therapeutic." She shook her hands and the flames disappeared. "And it's nice to see the man responsible for my abduction and attempted blinding jump at my bidding. You are the leader of your cell, right?" She smiled mysteriously at Adam, her eyes bright in the dim light of the basement.

"Yes," Adam responded promptly.

"And you are of Eddard de Nore's faction, correct?"

"Yes, my Lady."

"And you know of this fire that is to take place soon."

"Yes, my Lady."

"When is it to occur?"

"I don't know that, my Lady, but it is soon," Adam confirmed. "I thought to make a little extra coin before I left town, and that's why we nabbed you. None of us looked to kill you, even though you are known to be Deryni, we just thought we could earn a bit of a ransom before the city was destroyed."

Amy realized that Adam's sudden glibness must be due to the same type of magic Airich said he'd used on de Nore.

"Thank you for that, Adam, it's good to know that you didn't set out to kill me specifically," Gwendolyn said sardonically. "How are we to stop this fire?"

"They say no one can stop it, my Lady," Adam said. "Brother James assured us all that Grecotha will burn, no matter who tries to stop it."

"And who is Brother James?" Lady Gwendolyn pressed.

"I... he... he's my go-between with Eddard. I only saw him once or twice: he was always the one to contact me. Usually with a note."

"When did you last make that contact, Master Adam." Amy said, stepping forward, she did not use the magic that she knew Gwendolyn was using, so she doubted this man would answer her. But he looked at her straight on.

"The day that Eddard died, the note declared nothing will stop the cleansing. That is when I knew I needed funds to start a new business in Carbury."

"Carbury will not like your kind." Amy said with surety. "A note, you say, found in the wall behind a brick?"  She ventured to guess, thinking of the note she and Edwin had found.

"I would not call the stone at the bath house a brick." Adam said.  Then realized what he said and turned his eyes away from Amy.

But Gwendolyn caught the significance and used her persuasion to lock his eyes on to hers. "Which stone in the bath house? Is that how you pass your information along?"

"The tall stone on the right side of the bench facing the mermaid pouring water into the pool. It has a cubbyhole where we can leave notes to one another. That is how I am kept informed by Brother James."

Amy nodded to Gwendolyn: that was what she needed. This would be the second location where Willimites had left notes for the members of their cells. Both those locations should be closely monitored to see who else might look for messages in them. Of course, it would be up to one of the men to watch the bath house. If they had the time. And the desire to get cleaned up. Amy giggled to herself from her memory of what she had seen in the bath house previously.

Thursday morning
September 12, 1168
University Infirmary
Grecotha

Two pots bubbled merrily on the hearth. Both had started with the same herb mixture of plant seeds and aromatic leaves, seeped in water and vinegar. Both pots were stirred on occasion. But only one pot was stirred while whispering an incantation. More like a small song hummed as Amy moved the ladle in slow circles. It occurred to Amy that this image of her stirring a brew in a pot was much like the ancient child fairytales told to scare children. Never in her years of childhood had Amy thought she would one day be one of those witches. "Deryni," Elspeth had corrected her when she had made a joke about it. So she slowly stirred her pot while humming and concentrating on the spell Lady Gwendolyn had taught her. And Elspeth thoughtfully stirred the other pot in the same manner but without the power of the Deryni. In the first hours, there didn't seem to be a difference.

"Ite ut adducatis salutem et sanitatem." Amy sang softly, finishing her spell for the third time. (Go that you may bring health and healing)

When a few hours had passed, they noticed that Amy's brew was creamier and her seeds were softer, mushier even, and as she removed her wooden ladle the wood had turned an oily dark color. As Gwen had told her to do, she carefully lifted the ladle away from her medicine and dropped it into the hearth flames to sizzle and sputter and then burn like the rest of the kindling. Gwen had said the spell pulled out an impurity of an oil which adhered to the wood. That oil—now concentrated, though not poisonous—could lead to skin irritations at that concentration, and therefore it was best to just burn it away and be rid of it. The oil in the unensorcelled brew of Elspeth's would do no harm in the full mixture, but it did make the mixture a little less potent, which was why the Deryni had learned to pull the oil out.

They poured their respective mixtures over enameled drying platters. They were supposed to dry in the sunlight, but there was very little sun today. So they set the platters on a rack near the hearth stone. "I do hope this will be acceptable," Elspeth said. "I think this is supposed to dry slowly, yet quickly enough to not mildew, but certainly not quick enough to burn in a flame. We will have to ask Lady Gwen if we are doing it right. I fear, with this weather, we will not see the sun for days. And I would really like to have this medicine in my arsenal as injuries keep occurring in this town."

"With this many young men in one place without women to counter their capriciousness, I do not see how this city has not burned down before this." Amy said, showing her old habits of distrust for the opposite gender.

"You forget this is an ecclesiastical city. The young men here are supposed to be under a higher rule of discipline."

"Aye, but that has not stopped the violence, has it? In some circles, it seems to have heightened it. As a woman, I can not fathom how doing harm under any guise can be from the word of the Heavens. Why don't men think as women do?  Protect the home, the family, and all our neighbors too, but without causing harm to others. I just don't understand!"

"We women may never understand, but I think that is why we are here, to help balance out their capricious nature, as you say."

"Mistress Elspeth, I have found you."  Elspeth and Amy looked up to see nurse Lucie walking into the infirmary. She produced a letter and handed it across to the physicker.

Elspeth opened it, seeing the signature of Lady Gwendolyn at the bottom. She read the letter to herself and then summed it up for Amy. "It seems Gwen will take us to the Portal that we asked to see, but first she asks if we can use our letters-of-warrant to get her past Captain Phineas, so she can talk to that carpenter fellow, Master Adam."

"To face her tormentor? Is that a good idea?"

"We both think it will help my lady overcome her trauma," Lucie was quick to answer. "Will you please help her do this?"

Both inspectors agreed, gathered their cloaks, and followed Lucie toward the city barracks and the prison cells there.

Thursday morning


James Welch, the 2nd son of a minor Gwynedd Baron, makes his way across the Grecotha University campus. He left the chapel after morning prayers and walks without hurry or worry. Greeting others as they past.

His robes identify him as a brother, a student of Grecotha's Seminary. A future priest of the Church. He makes is way towards the library for his studies.

He is unaware that his movements are being watched.