gideonpepys
Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.
Zeitgeist Zuesdays Session 28, Part Two - Vigil Longis
Aulus' Cello
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VC-6ELLuQ5M
Vigil Longis
As they trudged towards the outpost, Korrigan talked to the patrolmen. He heard a lot of grumbling. Most of the men had been there over five years! The threat of renewed conflict between Risur and Danor meant that Crisillyir had forgotten her new colony. Brother Talbot was relatively green, having requested this posting just two years ago. Clearly this fact annoyed the others, despite Talbot’s own growing cynicism. He explained their care and caution as fear of weretiger attack and said he thought these daily patrols were pointless. “Our commander insists. For discipline’s sake.”
At length they reached Vigil Longis. It was nothing more than a crude stockade, mounted atop a magically raised table of stone at the centre of a wide clearing. A fraise of sharpened spikes provided defence. They had to climb a rope-ladder to gain access, and the gate was opened. The soothing sound of a cello could be heard thoughout the compound. As they headed for the largest building – the chapel – the sound grew louder and clearer. Inside, they found the music was being played by a giant of a man, crouched over the instrument as if it were a toy. When Brother Lionel approached he stopped playing and looked up. His eyes were a piercing blue.
This was Aulus Atticus. When he stood, he towered over Korrigan. He was well over seven feet tall and his build was enormous. In a heavily accented, and surprisingly airy, though resonant voice, he welcomed them to Vigil Longis. He was glad they had come, he said, and was especially glad to see another genuo credeto in their number. However, he had hoped there would be more of them. Korrigan nodded and said that there were indeed four more. They had become separated, he said, but he had received word that they were on their way. Aulus was glad. Their arrival might break an ongoing stalemate, give the outpost the chance to capitalise on some recent gains, and boost the troops’ morale. He naturally assumed that they would join together in an assault on the weretigers (advanced word of their request for silver weapons seemed to indicate as much) and asked only for their reason for doing so. Korrigan withheld the full details, saying simply that they sought an important artefact that would help them turn the tide of a global conflict – one so dire that even an remote outpost might have heard word of it. Indeed, Aulus Atticus had heard of the events in Flint three years ago, and that the very same colossus had stomped through the southern jungle only a fortnight ago.
The rest of the unit arrived at the fort. Aulus and the others went out from the chapel to greet them. (As they stepped out into the light, Korrigan noticed the hook pendant around Atticus’ neck glinting in the sunlight, and thought of his own, hidden beneath his tunic.) Soldiers gathered round. It was immediately apparent that there were no women stationed here at all.. Gupta noticed some of the men gawping at her. Brother Lionel noticed this too and admonished them, sotto voce. (Later, in the dining hall, the men kept their gaze resolutely downward; Aulus Atticus had chastised them too.) Aulus greeted the newcomers and then led them on a tour of the outpost.
From the twenty-foot-high walls, they saw a pyre where the dead were burned, “for fear if they are buried, the savages will dig them up and eat them, as they do their own kind”. They took in the armoury, recreation centre and mess hall – where holy food conjured by the chaplains was served at mealtimes. They took in the commander’s quarters – a large room dominated by Aulus Atticus’ giant suit of golden plate armour. And they visited the barracks – half-empty, since the depredations of the weretigers began: Aulus once commanded 150 men; now there were only seventy-odd. But they had enjoyed success recently: Aulus himself had slain the weretiger’s druidic leader in their last attack.
Now to the practical business of accommodation: Ordinarily they would have been required to bed down with the men, but as their group contained a female, they were given use of the rec centre, with beds provided from the barracks. Aulus asked Korrigan to join him after dinner so that they could formulate an initial plan of attack. The godhand proposed that they wait a full day to allow everyone to fully recover, and begin their assault on the morning of the next day. Korrigan merely nodded.
When the tour was over and they were left to their own devices, Rumdoom returned to the armoury and bought bigger, better silver weapons to augment the knives they secured in Sentosa. Uru, feeling strangely sorry for these forgotten soldiers, mingled with the rank-and-file in the guise of Vitus Sigismund, and tried to reassure them that their sacrifices and dedication had not been forgotten back home.
After a dinner of conjured food, Korrigan visited Aulus Atticus in his chambers. He wasted no time in telling the commander that the unit would not be joining in any attack on the weretigers. Aulus maintained his composure, but was clearly ruffled. At first Korrigan attempted diplomacy, and tried in vain to convince Aulus that further conflict was unnecessary. But the godhand viewed his mission here as an extension of the holy war against the Demonocracy, thousands of years ago. When he asked how Korrigan intended to get at the artefact he sought, it almost sounded like a threat. Above all, he was keen to establish if Korrigan intended to parley with the ‘knife-eared savages’ or, worse, help them attack the outpost.
In order to establish a common language and convince Aulus that he could be trusted, Korrigan chose this moment to reveal his Humble Hook. The godhand was astonished and asked if he could take a closer look. The power of the hook was evident. Breathlessly, Aulus declared this to be the Humble Hook – a long-lost clergy artefact that once hung round the neck of Cardinal Silvestri himself. How had Korrigan come by such a thing?
Korrigan told him it had been worn for a very long time “by the man I seek to oppose. But then it left him and came to me. The hook chose me.” The godhand was silent for a long time while he took all this in. When he spoke again his tone was almost supplicant. “Why has it brought you to me?”
Drawing on his knowledge of the life of Triegenes, and the particular interpretation rendered by William Miller, in the book recommended to him by Ottavia Sacerdote many years ago, Korrigan insisted that the man he knew – who ascended to godhood by virtue of his own sheer will – was not a god of war, but a god of peace; that Korrigan himself would not seek to choose any side in this conflict or betray the clergy’s hospitality. As he spoke, he felt warm emanations from the hook, signalling its approval of his words, and they were clearly having a profound effect on Aulus... Though tempted to go further, he decided not to try to tell the godhand what to do, and instead humbly asked that they be allowed to depart in the morning.
Atticus agreed.
Back in their quarters, Uru teased Gupta about how many indigenous tribes-people the unit had helped to wipe out (which was only partly true). Korrigan arrived and told them they were leaving the following day. It was at this point that Leon revealed he had imprisoned Talios in the absurdist web. This led to a lively debate about what to do with her. Uriel took particular offence to Uru’s suggestion that she might serve as a ‘bargaining chip’, and stormed outside when Leon countenanced keeping her in the web until after their dealings with the weretigers were done.
Thus agitated, Uriel did not sleep, but spent an uneasy night beset by visions, as if experiencing flashes of memory from each of the men here. At one point he felt he saw the moment that Aulus Atticus – floating off the ground, radiating light, and flanked by summoned angels – came face-to-face with the weretiger druid Jakumar, in hybrid form, fangs bared, razor-sharp briar tendrils whipping around him. Then Uriel flinched at the impending violence, and the vision was gone.
As they lay in the dark that night, Uru and Rumdoom had a whispered conversation about how things had become so confusing. “Have you noticed how everything went wrong after Korrigan told a lie?”
End of Session
Aulus' Cello
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VC-6ELLuQ5M
Vigil Longis
As they trudged towards the outpost, Korrigan talked to the patrolmen. He heard a lot of grumbling. Most of the men had been there over five years! The threat of renewed conflict between Risur and Danor meant that Crisillyir had forgotten her new colony. Brother Talbot was relatively green, having requested this posting just two years ago. Clearly this fact annoyed the others, despite Talbot’s own growing cynicism. He explained their care and caution as fear of weretiger attack and said he thought these daily patrols were pointless. “Our commander insists. For discipline’s sake.”
At length they reached Vigil Longis. It was nothing more than a crude stockade, mounted atop a magically raised table of stone at the centre of a wide clearing. A fraise of sharpened spikes provided defence. They had to climb a rope-ladder to gain access, and the gate was opened. The soothing sound of a cello could be heard thoughout the compound. As they headed for the largest building – the chapel – the sound grew louder and clearer. Inside, they found the music was being played by a giant of a man, crouched over the instrument as if it were a toy. When Brother Lionel approached he stopped playing and looked up. His eyes were a piercing blue.
This was Aulus Atticus. When he stood, he towered over Korrigan. He was well over seven feet tall and his build was enormous. In a heavily accented, and surprisingly airy, though resonant voice, he welcomed them to Vigil Longis. He was glad they had come, he said, and was especially glad to see another genuo credeto in their number. However, he had hoped there would be more of them. Korrigan nodded and said that there were indeed four more. They had become separated, he said, but he had received word that they were on their way. Aulus was glad. Their arrival might break an ongoing stalemate, give the outpost the chance to capitalise on some recent gains, and boost the troops’ morale. He naturally assumed that they would join together in an assault on the weretigers (advanced word of their request for silver weapons seemed to indicate as much) and asked only for their reason for doing so. Korrigan withheld the full details, saying simply that they sought an important artefact that would help them turn the tide of a global conflict – one so dire that even an remote outpost might have heard word of it. Indeed, Aulus Atticus had heard of the events in Flint three years ago, and that the very same colossus had stomped through the southern jungle only a fortnight ago.
The rest of the unit arrived at the fort. Aulus and the others went out from the chapel to greet them. (As they stepped out into the light, Korrigan noticed the hook pendant around Atticus’ neck glinting in the sunlight, and thought of his own, hidden beneath his tunic.) Soldiers gathered round. It was immediately apparent that there were no women stationed here at all.. Gupta noticed some of the men gawping at her. Brother Lionel noticed this too and admonished them, sotto voce. (Later, in the dining hall, the men kept their gaze resolutely downward; Aulus Atticus had chastised them too.) Aulus greeted the newcomers and then led them on a tour of the outpost.
From the twenty-foot-high walls, they saw a pyre where the dead were burned, “for fear if they are buried, the savages will dig them up and eat them, as they do their own kind”. They took in the armoury, recreation centre and mess hall – where holy food conjured by the chaplains was served at mealtimes. They took in the commander’s quarters – a large room dominated by Aulus Atticus’ giant suit of golden plate armour. And they visited the barracks – half-empty, since the depredations of the weretigers began: Aulus once commanded 150 men; now there were only seventy-odd. But they had enjoyed success recently: Aulus himself had slain the weretiger’s druidic leader in their last attack.
Now to the practical business of accommodation: Ordinarily they would have been required to bed down with the men, but as their group contained a female, they were given use of the rec centre, with beds provided from the barracks. Aulus asked Korrigan to join him after dinner so that they could formulate an initial plan of attack. The godhand proposed that they wait a full day to allow everyone to fully recover, and begin their assault on the morning of the next day. Korrigan merely nodded.
When the tour was over and they were left to their own devices, Rumdoom returned to the armoury and bought bigger, better silver weapons to augment the knives they secured in Sentosa. Uru, feeling strangely sorry for these forgotten soldiers, mingled with the rank-and-file in the guise of Vitus Sigismund, and tried to reassure them that their sacrifices and dedication had not been forgotten back home.
After a dinner of conjured food, Korrigan visited Aulus Atticus in his chambers. He wasted no time in telling the commander that the unit would not be joining in any attack on the weretigers. Aulus maintained his composure, but was clearly ruffled. At first Korrigan attempted diplomacy, and tried in vain to convince Aulus that further conflict was unnecessary. But the godhand viewed his mission here as an extension of the holy war against the Demonocracy, thousands of years ago. When he asked how Korrigan intended to get at the artefact he sought, it almost sounded like a threat. Above all, he was keen to establish if Korrigan intended to parley with the ‘knife-eared savages’ or, worse, help them attack the outpost.
In order to establish a common language and convince Aulus that he could be trusted, Korrigan chose this moment to reveal his Humble Hook. The godhand was astonished and asked if he could take a closer look. The power of the hook was evident. Breathlessly, Aulus declared this to be the Humble Hook – a long-lost clergy artefact that once hung round the neck of Cardinal Silvestri himself. How had Korrigan come by such a thing?
Korrigan told him it had been worn for a very long time “by the man I seek to oppose. But then it left him and came to me. The hook chose me.” The godhand was silent for a long time while he took all this in. When he spoke again his tone was almost supplicant. “Why has it brought you to me?”
Drawing on his knowledge of the life of Triegenes, and the particular interpretation rendered by William Miller, in the book recommended to him by Ottavia Sacerdote many years ago, Korrigan insisted that the man he knew – who ascended to godhood by virtue of his own sheer will – was not a god of war, but a god of peace; that Korrigan himself would not seek to choose any side in this conflict or betray the clergy’s hospitality. As he spoke, he felt warm emanations from the hook, signalling its approval of his words, and they were clearly having a profound effect on Aulus... Though tempted to go further, he decided not to try to tell the godhand what to do, and instead humbly asked that they be allowed to depart in the morning.
Atticus agreed.
Back in their quarters, Uru teased Gupta about how many indigenous tribes-people the unit had helped to wipe out (which was only partly true). Korrigan arrived and told them they were leaving the following day. It was at this point that Leon revealed he had imprisoned Talios in the absurdist web. This led to a lively debate about what to do with her. Uriel took particular offence to Uru’s suggestion that she might serve as a ‘bargaining chip’, and stormed outside when Leon countenanced keeping her in the web until after their dealings with the weretigers were done.
Thus agitated, Uriel did not sleep, but spent an uneasy night beset by visions, as if experiencing flashes of memory from each of the men here. At one point he felt he saw the moment that Aulus Atticus – floating off the ground, radiating light, and flanked by summoned angels – came face-to-face with the weretiger druid Jakumar, in hybrid form, fangs bared, razor-sharp briar tendrils whipping around him. Then Uriel flinched at the impending violence, and the vision was gone.
As they lay in the dark that night, Uru and Rumdoom had a whispered conversation about how things had become so confusing. “Have you noticed how everything went wrong after Korrigan told a lie?”
End of Session