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janestarzThe working title for this weekend was "Return to Wateringen", the town where Gilles the sheriff had used his wives to tap into witches' magic two Maerquins ago.
Let us return to Wateringen!
Dramatic Persons
Victor - personal assistant to Marianne, played by Sander v. O.;
Theodoor van Overstraete - a priest of Kharnun played by the Admiral;
Marianne den Schrijfster (the Writer) - a scribe played by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
janestarz;
Theo Twijgsnijder - a priest of Anmarack played by Gerard;
Kharnun - God of Changes and Illusion, Protector of the Thieves;
Anmarack - God of Death;
Friday
We travelled in a small group, some three women, four lizardmen and a knight called Jongerius. Victor and I thought it would be easiest if we were to travel together, especially since the Lizardmen carried bows, and the knight was dressed in armour and chainmail.
However, as we approached the small town of Wateringen, we were separated. Victor, Hilde, Anne and Anna and myself creeped into the woods when there were signs of trouble, while the lizardmen and the knight dealt with the enemies on the road. Some men, dressed as Priests of Balance, warned us, preaching prophecy and riddles as they are prone to do. Lightning struck in the distance, repeatedly hitting the same spot, near the town.
Finally, we arrived at the edge of the small town where one lone man waited. He had a rat's snout and paws, and a long tail escaped from his Inquisitor's robes. Lord Jongerius and Victor spoke with the man while I stayed to the side. I was still troubled by what I had seen the day previous.
As the morning had come, I went downstairs in to breakfast in the common room. Victor had insisted on a room in an inn, and I was glad of the comfort. A strange feeling crept over me, and I felt the urge to write. As soon as I was downstairs, I sought a free table and took out parchment and ink and started writing. I had no knowledge of the words that came from my pen, and soon I was overwhelmed with the vision of a man. I had seen him before, when we were younger, and I knew his name was Theodoor van Overstraete. He had visisted the orphanage a couple of times, but as I was a pupil there, we never spoke.
When I dropped my pen and the message was done, my vision cleared.
"Headstrong priest, our conversation was unfinished...Your lies at my side make me stronger...Farewell." The message was strange and cryptic, and though I could imagine where these words had come from, I did not completely understand it.
Victor's hand on my elbow woke me from my thoughts. "Let us have a cup of tea inside." he said. "It's all rather a strange story. The man was an Inquisitor, and he was enchanted by a woman named Alsema. He begs for aid. Jongerius is still talking to him, but we're going to get some tea. It's been a long trip."
Inside the inn, however, chaos reigned. There was a dead body on one of the tables, and ghosts walked between the visitors. One woman had bandages over her eyes, and touched each person in turn.
Victor sat me down at a quiet table a little way away from the corpse, and served me some tea. "Where have we landed?" He mused, "Why did we go here again?"
"Because I heard we should go here." I replied softly. I held my cup in both my hands and bent my head to drink, peering over the rim at the hubbub around us. Some people had lifted the corpse from the table and taken it someplace else, and slowly things settled down a bit, until the woman with the bleeding eyes came up to us. She touched us each in turn and mumbled "He's gone..." sadly, before moving on to the next person.
There was a familiar face in the crowd, and one that approached us. Norbert de Zwaan, my old teacher from the orphanage and the one who had taught me Forgery, slid into a seat opposite us.
"I have a task for you. Something was stolen from Kharnun," he said gravely, "and you will steal it back. It is the soul of one of Kharnun's followers, Theodoor van Overstraete. I trust you know him? Anmarack has it, and you will steal it back."
I handed Norbert an apple I still had in my writing chest ('an apple for the teacher') and we promised we would do our best. "...how..." I asked Victor, exasperated, after Norbert had left.
"We'll find a way." he said soothingly. "I think I saw Theodoor earlier. Shall I ask him to join us?"
Theodoor bent over the table soon after and we introduced ourselves. I handed him the letter I had written for him, and waited nervously while he read it. While he read, his face turned dark, his brows knitting into a frown. "Do you know who wrote this? How did you come by this?"
Just as I was about to answer, some man demanded Theodoor's attention for some quest or other, and he excused himself and walked away, his questions unanswered.
"I would have told him," I said to Victor, "if only he would have stayed for a little longer."
Victor arranged a customer shortly after. A tall man in armour sat at our table and told me what he wanted. "I know this...lady. And last time we met I delivered a package. And now I am away, but she might be angry with me. But I did enjoy the ...you know... giving of the package, and I would like to come back to her some more and do it again. So if you write a beautiful excuse-letter, I will still be on her good side. And she'll take me back."
The man chose my most expensive parchment and a special ink, and I asked him how to address the lady in question.
"Pumpkin chamber elephant is what I called her. It was my special name for her."
Victor whispered a suggestion to me as the man turned away, occupied with his beer. "Write down "pumpkin, dearest of my heart', she can't help but feel loved at that."
I did so, and continued with flowering sentences declaring the man's undying love for the lady. How he had enjoyed delivering the package, and when he thought of her his heart soared with the clouds, but how he had, regrettably, been contracted to ensure safe passage for a group of refugees and could not be with her. When I was done, it was a beautiful letter in blue glittering ink and it would swoon every woman. I addressed the parchment to his instructions and he wrapped a ribbon around it, paid us and left.
Not two minutes later, I saw him hand the letter to a tall woman with red hair at the other side of the room, and I pointed it out to Victor. And as chance would have it, the woman sauntered over to the bar, got herself a drink and opened the letter while she sat at our table.
"Good news?" I asked, playing bashful to keep a low profile.
"It's a love letter!" she laughed.
That night I also wrote a document for a ghost and a man so that the ghost's good name would be ensured and the man would get a recipe in the bargain. And I spoke at length to Theodoor, who was not happy to know I was the one who composed the letter, but at least could understand the contents a bit better. He told me about his trials, how he had been told to steal an artefact or be struck blind, and when he failed he had fumbled, but thanks to the help of some friends still got his hands on it. And how, when the blindness faded, someone had said a prayer to guide his soul to Anmarack, because it had appeared as though he was dying.
Saturday
The next morning we had made little progress in stealing back Theodoor's soul, and right after breakfast, Norbert again required a word with me. "You have not made any progress." he said, and frowned. "Anmarack has the soul, and all you have to do is steal it back. How hard can it be?"
He took out a small switch. "This is for you and Victor. You will give Victor five lashes on his hand, and he will give you five lashes on yours to teach you two to listen to me."
Norbert walked away, leaving me to stare incredulously at the switch in my hand. It was a small piece of wood and light to the touch, but its posession implied that though we had been away from the orphanage for a few years, we were not free of it and might never be.
However, I dared not disobey. When I told Victor of what had happened, he balked at Norbert's assumption we would so blindly obey him. He held out his hand, palm down, and I did exactly as Norbert had told me.
But when I handed it to Victor and held out my hand to be punished for my disobedience, Victor tossed the small bit of wood aside lightly. "I am not going to strike you because some teacher from back in the day tells me to. Now, if this soul is with Anmarack, then we can probably find it beyond the Veil of Death. The boundary between the world of the living and the world of the dead is weak here, too weak, you've seen all the ghosts. And some people have already been to the World of the Dead already. Come on, let's go."
Theodoor refused to come, on the grounds that if Anmarack had his soul, he might be forced to work against us, and because he was told not to help us, so Victor and I strode into the field together. The rift between worlds was halfway, and soon there was an eerie mist around us. It became thicker, and then a woman appeared.
"I am Sirena and I keep the portal between the worlds. Come step on the stones, show your respect to the dead, and tell me what you seek here."
I carefully placed my feet on the first stone, and made a large step to the next. "We are looking for a soul, a soul that Anmarack posesses."
"Would you like to see the altars of the Gods?" Sirena asked. "It is where the dead show their respect."
I nodded, and followed her through the mists, taking care to step on the stones. Victor followed me closely.
"Only one may enter at a time." Sirena beckoned, and I stepped into a room, the door closing behind me. There were guirlandes of flowers and from them hung small pendants softly swaying. A light floated around the pendants, staying for a moment here, moving there.
"Many Gods have had many visitors, and yet for some, none have come. Sheldindra has not had any visitors here. And you, who worships Kharnun, what do you think of this room?"
"I think that if this is the place where the dead honour their Gods, then the living have their own place to do so, and it is not here."
Sirena nodded softly, and showed me out. Victor also went into the room, and came back clutching his head in pain. When he had been asked "What do you ask?" he had answered "I don't need anything from here.", which was apparantly the wrong answer.
The woman smiled wryly at us. "We're still looking for the soul of our friend. It is with Anmarack. Can you help us find it?" I asked her.
"Come into the room again." she beckoned. "If you hold my hand, you need not step on each stone in turn, I will lead you."
She lead me into the room and again the light floated around me, pausing for a moment on an altar and staying still.
"The black pearls will summon the avatar of the God, so that you can speak with him directly. The white pearl will only show you a vision. As you can see, Anmarack has had more visitors, and only white pearls remain. Do you wish for one?"
I nodded.
"Then take one."
I carefully held the pendant-altar and pried loose one of the white pearls. It was as large as my fingernail, and I held it in my hand so it would be safe.
"Eat it." said Sirena.
I pressed the white pearl between my lips and carefully swallowed. The room began to sway, and my knees gave way beneath me.
When I came to, I saw a sky filled with stars. There were thousands, but while time passed, one by one they faded to black. In the end, only one star remained.
'These must be the souls that Anmarack has collected.' I thought 'And that one must be Theodoor's soul.'
I stretched out my hand and took the star. It shone between my fingers, burning bright, and then burning even brighter. The light became so bright that my eyes hurt, and the palm of my hand began to burn. The star burned so brightly, that it burned right through my hand and fell to the floor, breaking open like glass and spilling maggots and pus around it.
Holding my burned hand close, I swallowed. 'Not such a pure soul, then.'
Carefully, I scooped up as much of the soul I could find. The maggots writhed over my palm, the pus dripped from my fingers. And then all of it seemed to melt right into my skin and blackness claimed me once more.
When I awoke, I was back in the room with the altars, and I looked at my hands. Empty, and dirty yellow spots had appeared all over my skin. I sighed, and got up from the floor where I had fallen.
The light still danced around the pendants, and then moved to a different corner. I had not yet been there, and the light stopped moving. It was stuck on one of the white roses of the guirlande. Smiling, I reached out with one finger and lightly tapped the petals of the rose. A whiff of wind, and then I felt the rose behind my ear, no longer stuck on the vine.
We thanked Sirena when we left, and she told us the rift between the worlds must be mended soon. I smiled at Victor as we returned to the world of the living. "I think I got it." I smiled. "Let's go find Theodoor and tell him the good news!
I prepared a piece of parchment with a message. "What is yours shall be returned to you...I will keep it safe for you...your servant shall be yours once more", and we filched a candlestand from the tavern. We found a quiet spot in the woods near Wateringen and Theodoor lit the candle. "With light, there are shadows"
I hailed our God, asked for his attention and then trusted the parchment and the words to the flames. When I had prayed to Kharnun the night before, there had been nothing but emptiness. Now, there was an answer. We all felt something different: Theodoor had the feeling he was captured in a large crystal, Victor saw a large jewel, just beyond his grasp. And I felt something sliver in my hand. When the message was burnt, I took a look at my hands: there was a white substance in my palm, which smelled something fierce, but the yellow spots had disappeared.
Ah! Our triumph lasted for a moment. For it seemed that whatever I had taken from the vision, had not been Theodoor's soul. Again it was Norbert who spoke sternly. "The soul is in the stone. You must steal the stone from Anmarack."
We researched a little bit, asking around how a soul could be trapped in a stone. Theo Twijgsnijder, the priest of Anmarack, told us all about it - circumspectly, for he had lost the ability to speak and needed to write down everything he wanted to say. A soulstone could trap a soul, but it was very dangerous. A dangerous murderer even had his soul trapped in a snake, the snake was turned to stone, broken, and the pieces were spread across the land.
And then Theo showed us a beautiful piece of jewelry: a large amulet of silver with a bright red stone in it. He told us that it was something he had been given in the temple of Anmarack, right before Zepultoera attacked them and he had been charged to keep it safe, never to let them have it.
Our suspicions pointed towards this necklace and the red stone in its heart. If soulstones were occupied, they were rumoured to turn red. If it would indeed hold Theodoor's soul, this necklace and the stone was the object we needed to steal. But our biggest problem was: How? Theo wore the necklace underneath his hood and cloak, hidden. There was no way we could get the necklace from around his neck without either killing him and bringing him into the fold.
What was even worse was that Theo Twijgsnijder told us he would be closing the rift between the world of the living and the dead that night, from the inside out. If he were to go into the world of the dead with that necklace, there was no way I'd ever get my hands on it again.
I laid the foundations in a conversation where I told Theo Twijgsnijder about my vision in the world of the dead. He was intrigued. Perhaps it was the Last Light of Anmarack that I had seen?
After the dinner, I asked Theo Twijgsnijder if I could speak with him about a more personal matter, something of great importance. I spoke of the soulstone I was looking for, the part of the soul I needed to find, and that my life depended on it. I can hardly recall what I said, but I cried and I slowly walked with him to a more quiet place, nearer to the rift. When I sat down on a small bench there, I saw that like me, Theo was holding a dagger in his hand.
"I need a favour, and it is not a small one. I need that necklace, that amulet, that you wear around your neck. I know how much it means to you, but my life depends on it." I wasn't lying, Kharnun would surely kill me if I failed. Or worse. Tears were running down my face.
"Would you swear on the ten gods that you would protect it from Zepultoera?" Theo countered.
'No, not on the ten gods.' I thought. 'But I will compromise. You do not trust me and I do not trust you. We are both holding a dagger and there are many people nearby. I have refused to tell you in what god I believe, so now I will compromise and be honest with you. With lies and truth I might get this done.' But I said: "No, but I will swear on the god I worship." I said softly, my voice shaking. "I will swear on Kharnun that I will do everything I can to protect this amulet from Zepultoera, and that I would give my life to protect it."
Theo gaped at me, his jaw momentarily not responding, his brain firing warning shots across the bow of his common sense.
And then he nodded. I held out my hands, crying, begging for the necklace. He carefully placed it in my hands and I had to will my fingers to close around it, not to snatch it away from him and afraid he would not let go.
Sighing, crying, I bent over the necklace. I took Theo's hand and kissed it, saying "Thank you, thank you."
There was something wrong though. It felt like my God suddenly looked down upon me - something that does not feel so very nice as you can imagine. Like from all the people in the world, his entire attention was focused on me and only me. I felt like fainting, but Theo was standing over me still, and if I were to faint, I could lose everything I had. I willed my body and mind to focus and walked back towards Theodoor and Victor.
Back in the light, I took Theodoor's hand and squeezed it, laughing at him. I squeezed Victor's shoulder, and I showed them, holding my palms close to my body so only they could see.
There were two amulets there. One was the big silver thing with the red soulstone. The other was a circular pendant with a sign on it: the amulet of Kharnun that was needful to restore the Gods to the Pantheon. Similar amulets had been found when other people had completed a task for their gods.
I had not failed my God after all.
Shortly after, Theodoor, Victor and I walked back into the woods where we had been before. This time, we did not take a candle along, and the darkness would be our friend. I doffed my hat and knelt on the leaves. I took out the silver necklace, and wrapped the chain between around my hands, holding the amulet on my fingers.
"Kharnun, hear your servant." I pleaded, my voice steady. "I have done as you commanded. I call to you now to return to you the soul of your servant."
The amulet began to throb in my hands, the silver growing warmer, and a light coming from the crystal. It rose from my hands, the light growing brighter. A voice whispered in my ear: "Which soul would you bring me?"
"I bring you the soul of Theodoor van Overstraete."
The light glowed brighter, it blinded me as the amulet started to rotate and the light played on our faces. It continued for a little while, and then the light faded and died.
There was a weight around my neck, and I saw that the amulet of Kharnun had now placed itself around my neck, nestling comfortably on my breast.
As there was no need to keep the amulet any longer, I returned it to Theo Twijgsnijder. "I know how valuable this is for you, and I want to return it to you. The soul that was needed has been freed, and I have been given this." I showed him the amulet of Kharnun. "This was my task, and I have completed it."
Norbert, however, was less happy with the news. He held out his hand and asked for the item.
"We stole the soul, and returned it to Kharnun, as it was stolen from Kharnun in the beginning"
"That was not the task." Norbert said.
"Give unto Kharnun what is his." I replied.
Norbert stalked off after a mean look, and I fear this is not the last we have heard from him or the orphanage.
Sunday
Hugo, the paladin of Ranaa, approached Theodoor, who was sitting to my left. The paladin was a pompous fool, and had obviously not realised yet what the black cord around my neck meant. Though I had hidden the amulet itself between my shift and my dress, the cords were an unusual sight.
"Theodoor, we should start soon. It is time that the bearer of the Amulet of Kharnun comes forward." Hugo looked Theodoor over, expecting to see an amulet pop out at any moment.
Theodoor glanced at me shortly, but Hugo missed the look. He did not even notice me at first, until I pulled the necklace free from the dress. For a moment or two he was speechless, and then he started babbling. "My lady, I understand that it must be hard to come out into the open with this, but I want you to know that I do appreciate your sacrifice."
I looked at my toes, as I always do around those people who are not my friends. The shy Marianne is so easy to play, and creates a wonderful barrier and is my greatest protection.
I slowly nodded, shyly looked into Hugo's eyes, and then cast them down again. Only then did I feel a hand on my chin. It was Theodoor's hand, trying to raise my head, to not be ashamed of my faith in front of this fool. Little does Theodoor know that my demeanor is my biggest lie, and that I look down on such men as Hugo, but I appreciated the gesture.
The Oracle arrived, and was greeting those who had the amulets of their Gods, to know them before the ritual would start. I had had a dream that orcs and this ritual were connected somehow, and some men were trying to build a barrier. Meanwhile, I sat down in the chair opposite the Oracle, and shyly told her my name. The Oracle held out her hand, and I laid my hand to hers. She drew a sharp breath and breathed "I know you, Marianne."
That was all that was needful before the time was there.
An outer circle with all nine of us with amulets, and the inner circle with the oracle and the tablet on which she would draw the new Pantheon. Any god not represented in the Pantheon would be unable to communicate with its followers, and there was the threat of the tenth God who wanted a place in the pantheon - all space, if possible.
Weapons were not allowed in the circles, and I hesitated but gave Victor his dagger back. We would probably be safer inside the circle than out.
The oracle started and placed us inside the inner circle, calling our names. She called forth our Gods, asking us to point to the place in the pantheon our God should possess. When my time came, I pointed to the inner circle - enough space there, possibly more than Kharnun had in the old Pantheon.
I hardly heard the sentries when the cry went out. "Orcs!!!"
The orcs were a small problem compared to what happened inside the circle. A mage appeared, and some woman with red streaming wings. Havoc broke loose as the young woman tried to push us outside the circle. She grabbed me by the throat, choking me. My hands on her wrists could not break her grip. "I do not want Kharnun here." she sneered, and pushed me outside the circle with force. I fell, hit the cobbled stones, gasped for breath. Within seconds, someone was at my side. Victor, my loyal Victor, wrapped his arms around me and I cried and sobbed because I had failed my God.
Someone told me I needed to get back in there and it was a woman, a priest of balance. "Use your amulet" she whispered, and I stood up, grabbed the amulet from my throat and held it against the ritual circle. The circle did not open, something was still in the way, and I told Victor to break the circle. All of a sudden, it was gone, and I stepped back inside.
The Oracle was distraught, the Pantheon disturbed, the woman --Alsema-- trying to get her way, to get her tenth god into the Pantheon and all our Gods out. The Oracle had slashed her wrists and was trying to create the lines of the Panteon with her own blood. I supported her, and then asked Theo Twijgsnijder to my right if he had a weapon on him.
"I have the dagger of Anmarack." he said, a strange glint in his eye.
"So be it, give it to me so I may help my God by spilling my blood."
Theo gave me the dagger, the sacrificial dagger of Anmarack that demands the sacrifice to lift the Curse of the Land. I held it steady in my right hand and opened the veins of my left wrist, my blood dripping on the Oracle's hands so she could use my blood to draw with as well.
I felt a little light-headed.
The Oracle toppled over, her strength depleted, and many people rushed to see to her, to heal her. I dug into a pouch we had fastened to my dress, and grabbed a potion before I would lose consciousness.
Outside the circle, Alsema had summoned ratlike beings to attack our friends, but inside she reigned with fury, throwing the faithful out of the circle and screeching the names of all our gods, whom she deemed to be unworthy of a place in the pantheon.
We helped the Oracle up and closed around the poor woman so she could complete her job. Alsema turned on us, and I tried to push her away but she grabbed me once more. She screamed a spell at me, and I felt a soaring pain in my chest, my heart seemed to stop, and I lost consciousness.
Theodoor had seen me fall, but every time Alsema called her ratlike beings to aid her, everyone was thrown back from the circle. He had had trouble reaching me, but he uncorked a potionbottle and tipped the contents into my mouth. Again I had been thrown back, and again my work was not done.
Once more I went inside the circle. One more time I took a dagger and opened the veins of my left wrist so the Oracle could finish her work. Alsema troubled us no more, her amulet of the tenth God had been placed inside the pantheon, and it was inside a large pool of blood.
"Place your amulets" the Oracle said breathlessly. "Help me."
Kharnun was placed, our blood surrounding his rightful place. Volkmar's amulet was broken, but the pieces placed and a space drawn, and Dinea's amulet was gone, but a replacement (or so the gnome thought) placed into the pantheon. All ten of the gods had, in the end, found their place and all places were marked with blood.
I felt very lightheaded this time.
When it was all done, again my friends supported me. They took me to a healer and placed a cup of tea in my hands. I had lost a lot of blood, but I was glad that Kharnun had a place marked in the Pantheon, and that I had not failed Him.
But many questions still remain unanswered.
~Anastaszia's tale~ Photo's
Let us return to Wateringen!
Dramatic Persons
Victor - personal assistant to Marianne, played by Sander v. O.;
Theodoor van Overstraete - a priest of Kharnun played by the Admiral;
Marianne den Schrijfster (the Writer) - a scribe played by
janestarz;Theo Twijgsnijder - a priest of Anmarack played by Gerard;
Kharnun - God of Changes and Illusion, Protector of the Thieves;
Anmarack - God of Death;
Friday
We travelled in a small group, some three women, four lizardmen and a knight called Jongerius. Victor and I thought it would be easiest if we were to travel together, especially since the Lizardmen carried bows, and the knight was dressed in armour and chainmail.
However, as we approached the small town of Wateringen, we were separated. Victor, Hilde, Anne and Anna and myself creeped into the woods when there were signs of trouble, while the lizardmen and the knight dealt with the enemies on the road. Some men, dressed as Priests of Balance, warned us, preaching prophecy and riddles as they are prone to do. Lightning struck in the distance, repeatedly hitting the same spot, near the town.
Finally, we arrived at the edge of the small town where one lone man waited. He had a rat's snout and paws, and a long tail escaped from his Inquisitor's robes. Lord Jongerius and Victor spoke with the man while I stayed to the side. I was still troubled by what I had seen the day previous.
As the morning had come, I went downstairs in to breakfast in the common room. Victor had insisted on a room in an inn, and I was glad of the comfort. A strange feeling crept over me, and I felt the urge to write. As soon as I was downstairs, I sought a free table and took out parchment and ink and started writing. I had no knowledge of the words that came from my pen, and soon I was overwhelmed with the vision of a man. I had seen him before, when we were younger, and I knew his name was Theodoor van Overstraete. He had visisted the orphanage a couple of times, but as I was a pupil there, we never spoke.
When I dropped my pen and the message was done, my vision cleared.
"Headstrong priest, our conversation was unfinished...Your lies at my side make me stronger...Farewell." The message was strange and cryptic, and though I could imagine where these words had come from, I did not completely understand it.
Victor's hand on my elbow woke me from my thoughts. "Let us have a cup of tea inside." he said. "It's all rather a strange story. The man was an Inquisitor, and he was enchanted by a woman named Alsema. He begs for aid. Jongerius is still talking to him, but we're going to get some tea. It's been a long trip."
Inside the inn, however, chaos reigned. There was a dead body on one of the tables, and ghosts walked between the visitors. One woman had bandages over her eyes, and touched each person in turn.
Victor sat me down at a quiet table a little way away from the corpse, and served me some tea. "Where have we landed?" He mused, "Why did we go here again?"
"Because I heard we should go here." I replied softly. I held my cup in both my hands and bent my head to drink, peering over the rim at the hubbub around us. Some people had lifted the corpse from the table and taken it someplace else, and slowly things settled down a bit, until the woman with the bleeding eyes came up to us. She touched us each in turn and mumbled "He's gone..." sadly, before moving on to the next person.
There was a familiar face in the crowd, and one that approached us. Norbert de Zwaan, my old teacher from the orphanage and the one who had taught me Forgery, slid into a seat opposite us.
"I have a task for you. Something was stolen from Kharnun," he said gravely, "and you will steal it back. It is the soul of one of Kharnun's followers, Theodoor van Overstraete. I trust you know him? Anmarack has it, and you will steal it back."
I handed Norbert an apple I still had in my writing chest ('an apple for the teacher') and we promised we would do our best. "...how..." I asked Victor, exasperated, after Norbert had left.
"We'll find a way." he said soothingly. "I think I saw Theodoor earlier. Shall I ask him to join us?"
Theodoor bent over the table soon after and we introduced ourselves. I handed him the letter I had written for him, and waited nervously while he read it. While he read, his face turned dark, his brows knitting into a frown. "Do you know who wrote this? How did you come by this?"
Just as I was about to answer, some man demanded Theodoor's attention for some quest or other, and he excused himself and walked away, his questions unanswered.
"I would have told him," I said to Victor, "if only he would have stayed for a little longer."
Victor arranged a customer shortly after. A tall man in armour sat at our table and told me what he wanted. "I know this...lady. And last time we met I delivered a package. And now I am away, but she might be angry with me. But I did enjoy the ...you know... giving of the package, and I would like to come back to her some more and do it again. So if you write a beautiful excuse-letter, I will still be on her good side. And she'll take me back."
The man chose my most expensive parchment and a special ink, and I asked him how to address the lady in question.
"Pumpkin chamber elephant is what I called her. It was my special name for her."
Victor whispered a suggestion to me as the man turned away, occupied with his beer. "Write down "pumpkin, dearest of my heart', she can't help but feel loved at that."
I did so, and continued with flowering sentences declaring the man's undying love for the lady. How he had enjoyed delivering the package, and when he thought of her his heart soared with the clouds, but how he had, regrettably, been contracted to ensure safe passage for a group of refugees and could not be with her. When I was done, it was a beautiful letter in blue glittering ink and it would swoon every woman. I addressed the parchment to his instructions and he wrapped a ribbon around it, paid us and left.
Not two minutes later, I saw him hand the letter to a tall woman with red hair at the other side of the room, and I pointed it out to Victor. And as chance would have it, the woman sauntered over to the bar, got herself a drink and opened the letter while she sat at our table.
"Good news?" I asked, playing bashful to keep a low profile.
"It's a love letter!" she laughed.
That night I also wrote a document for a ghost and a man so that the ghost's good name would be ensured and the man would get a recipe in the bargain. And I spoke at length to Theodoor, who was not happy to know I was the one who composed the letter, but at least could understand the contents a bit better. He told me about his trials, how he had been told to steal an artefact or be struck blind, and when he failed he had fumbled, but thanks to the help of some friends still got his hands on it. And how, when the blindness faded, someone had said a prayer to guide his soul to Anmarack, because it had appeared as though he was dying.
Saturday
The next morning we had made little progress in stealing back Theodoor's soul, and right after breakfast, Norbert again required a word with me. "You have not made any progress." he said, and frowned. "Anmarack has the soul, and all you have to do is steal it back. How hard can it be?"
He took out a small switch. "This is for you and Victor. You will give Victor five lashes on his hand, and he will give you five lashes on yours to teach you two to listen to me."
Norbert walked away, leaving me to stare incredulously at the switch in my hand. It was a small piece of wood and light to the touch, but its posession implied that though we had been away from the orphanage for a few years, we were not free of it and might never be.
However, I dared not disobey. When I told Victor of what had happened, he balked at Norbert's assumption we would so blindly obey him. He held out his hand, palm down, and I did exactly as Norbert had told me.
But when I handed it to Victor and held out my hand to be punished for my disobedience, Victor tossed the small bit of wood aside lightly. "I am not going to strike you because some teacher from back in the day tells me to. Now, if this soul is with Anmarack, then we can probably find it beyond the Veil of Death. The boundary between the world of the living and the world of the dead is weak here, too weak, you've seen all the ghosts. And some people have already been to the World of the Dead already. Come on, let's go."
Theodoor refused to come, on the grounds that if Anmarack had his soul, he might be forced to work against us, and because he was told not to help us, so Victor and I strode into the field together. The rift between worlds was halfway, and soon there was an eerie mist around us. It became thicker, and then a woman appeared.
"I am Sirena and I keep the portal between the worlds. Come step on the stones, show your respect to the dead, and tell me what you seek here."
I carefully placed my feet on the first stone, and made a large step to the next. "We are looking for a soul, a soul that Anmarack posesses."
"Would you like to see the altars of the Gods?" Sirena asked. "It is where the dead show their respect."
I nodded, and followed her through the mists, taking care to step on the stones. Victor followed me closely.
"Only one may enter at a time." Sirena beckoned, and I stepped into a room, the door closing behind me. There were guirlandes of flowers and from them hung small pendants softly swaying. A light floated around the pendants, staying for a moment here, moving there.
"Many Gods have had many visitors, and yet for some, none have come. Sheldindra has not had any visitors here. And you, who worships Kharnun, what do you think of this room?"
"I think that if this is the place where the dead honour their Gods, then the living have their own place to do so, and it is not here."
Sirena nodded softly, and showed me out. Victor also went into the room, and came back clutching his head in pain. When he had been asked "What do you ask?" he had answered "I don't need anything from here.", which was apparantly the wrong answer.
The woman smiled wryly at us. "We're still looking for the soul of our friend. It is with Anmarack. Can you help us find it?" I asked her.
"Come into the room again." she beckoned. "If you hold my hand, you need not step on each stone in turn, I will lead you."
She lead me into the room and again the light floated around me, pausing for a moment on an altar and staying still.
"The black pearls will summon the avatar of the God, so that you can speak with him directly. The white pearl will only show you a vision. As you can see, Anmarack has had more visitors, and only white pearls remain. Do you wish for one?"
I nodded.
"Then take one."
I carefully held the pendant-altar and pried loose one of the white pearls. It was as large as my fingernail, and I held it in my hand so it would be safe.
"Eat it." said Sirena.
I pressed the white pearl between my lips and carefully swallowed. The room began to sway, and my knees gave way beneath me.
When I came to, I saw a sky filled with stars. There were thousands, but while time passed, one by one they faded to black. In the end, only one star remained.
'These must be the souls that Anmarack has collected.' I thought 'And that one must be Theodoor's soul.'
I stretched out my hand and took the star. It shone between my fingers, burning bright, and then burning even brighter. The light became so bright that my eyes hurt, and the palm of my hand began to burn. The star burned so brightly, that it burned right through my hand and fell to the floor, breaking open like glass and spilling maggots and pus around it.
Holding my burned hand close, I swallowed. 'Not such a pure soul, then.'
Carefully, I scooped up as much of the soul I could find. The maggots writhed over my palm, the pus dripped from my fingers. And then all of it seemed to melt right into my skin and blackness claimed me once more.
When I awoke, I was back in the room with the altars, and I looked at my hands. Empty, and dirty yellow spots had appeared all over my skin. I sighed, and got up from the floor where I had fallen.
The light still danced around the pendants, and then moved to a different corner. I had not yet been there, and the light stopped moving. It was stuck on one of the white roses of the guirlande. Smiling, I reached out with one finger and lightly tapped the petals of the rose. A whiff of wind, and then I felt the rose behind my ear, no longer stuck on the vine.
We thanked Sirena when we left, and she told us the rift between the worlds must be mended soon. I smiled at Victor as we returned to the world of the living. "I think I got it." I smiled. "Let's go find Theodoor and tell him the good news!
I prepared a piece of parchment with a message. "What is yours shall be returned to you...I will keep it safe for you...your servant shall be yours once more", and we filched a candlestand from the tavern. We found a quiet spot in the woods near Wateringen and Theodoor lit the candle. "With light, there are shadows"
I hailed our God, asked for his attention and then trusted the parchment and the words to the flames. When I had prayed to Kharnun the night before, there had been nothing but emptiness. Now, there was an answer. We all felt something different: Theodoor had the feeling he was captured in a large crystal, Victor saw a large jewel, just beyond his grasp. And I felt something sliver in my hand. When the message was burnt, I took a look at my hands: there was a white substance in my palm, which smelled something fierce, but the yellow spots had disappeared.
Ah! Our triumph lasted for a moment. For it seemed that whatever I had taken from the vision, had not been Theodoor's soul. Again it was Norbert who spoke sternly. "The soul is in the stone. You must steal the stone from Anmarack."
We researched a little bit, asking around how a soul could be trapped in a stone. Theo Twijgsnijder, the priest of Anmarack, told us all about it - circumspectly, for he had lost the ability to speak and needed to write down everything he wanted to say. A soulstone could trap a soul, but it was very dangerous. A dangerous murderer even had his soul trapped in a snake, the snake was turned to stone, broken, and the pieces were spread across the land.
And then Theo showed us a beautiful piece of jewelry: a large amulet of silver with a bright red stone in it. He told us that it was something he had been given in the temple of Anmarack, right before Zepultoera attacked them and he had been charged to keep it safe, never to let them have it.
Our suspicions pointed towards this necklace and the red stone in its heart. If soulstones were occupied, they were rumoured to turn red. If it would indeed hold Theodoor's soul, this necklace and the stone was the object we needed to steal. But our biggest problem was: How? Theo wore the necklace underneath his hood and cloak, hidden. There was no way we could get the necklace from around his neck without either killing him and bringing him into the fold.
What was even worse was that Theo Twijgsnijder told us he would be closing the rift between the world of the living and the dead that night, from the inside out. If he were to go into the world of the dead with that necklace, there was no way I'd ever get my hands on it again.
I laid the foundations in a conversation where I told Theo Twijgsnijder about my vision in the world of the dead. He was intrigued. Perhaps it was the Last Light of Anmarack that I had seen?
After the dinner, I asked Theo Twijgsnijder if I could speak with him about a more personal matter, something of great importance. I spoke of the soulstone I was looking for, the part of the soul I needed to find, and that my life depended on it. I can hardly recall what I said, but I cried and I slowly walked with him to a more quiet place, nearer to the rift. When I sat down on a small bench there, I saw that like me, Theo was holding a dagger in his hand.
"I need a favour, and it is not a small one. I need that necklace, that amulet, that you wear around your neck. I know how much it means to you, but my life depends on it." I wasn't lying, Kharnun would surely kill me if I failed. Or worse. Tears were running down my face.
"Would you swear on the ten gods that you would protect it from Zepultoera?" Theo countered.
'No, not on the ten gods.' I thought. 'But I will compromise. You do not trust me and I do not trust you. We are both holding a dagger and there are many people nearby. I have refused to tell you in what god I believe, so now I will compromise and be honest with you. With lies and truth I might get this done.' But I said: "No, but I will swear on the god I worship." I said softly, my voice shaking. "I will swear on Kharnun that I will do everything I can to protect this amulet from Zepultoera, and that I would give my life to protect it."
Theo gaped at me, his jaw momentarily not responding, his brain firing warning shots across the bow of his common sense.
And then he nodded. I held out my hands, crying, begging for the necklace. He carefully placed it in my hands and I had to will my fingers to close around it, not to snatch it away from him and afraid he would not let go.
Sighing, crying, I bent over the necklace. I took Theo's hand and kissed it, saying "Thank you, thank you."
There was something wrong though. It felt like my God suddenly looked down upon me - something that does not feel so very nice as you can imagine. Like from all the people in the world, his entire attention was focused on me and only me. I felt like fainting, but Theo was standing over me still, and if I were to faint, I could lose everything I had. I willed my body and mind to focus and walked back towards Theodoor and Victor.
Back in the light, I took Theodoor's hand and squeezed it, laughing at him. I squeezed Victor's shoulder, and I showed them, holding my palms close to my body so only they could see.
There were two amulets there. One was the big silver thing with the red soulstone. The other was a circular pendant with a sign on it: the amulet of Kharnun that was needful to restore the Gods to the Pantheon. Similar amulets had been found when other people had completed a task for their gods.
I had not failed my God after all.
Shortly after, Theodoor, Victor and I walked back into the woods where we had been before. This time, we did not take a candle along, and the darkness would be our friend. I doffed my hat and knelt on the leaves. I took out the silver necklace, and wrapped the chain between around my hands, holding the amulet on my fingers.
"Kharnun, hear your servant." I pleaded, my voice steady. "I have done as you commanded. I call to you now to return to you the soul of your servant."
The amulet began to throb in my hands, the silver growing warmer, and a light coming from the crystal. It rose from my hands, the light growing brighter. A voice whispered in my ear: "Which soul would you bring me?"
"I bring you the soul of Theodoor van Overstraete."
The light glowed brighter, it blinded me as the amulet started to rotate and the light played on our faces. It continued for a little while, and then the light faded and died.
There was a weight around my neck, and I saw that the amulet of Kharnun had now placed itself around my neck, nestling comfortably on my breast.
As there was no need to keep the amulet any longer, I returned it to Theo Twijgsnijder. "I know how valuable this is for you, and I want to return it to you. The soul that was needed has been freed, and I have been given this." I showed him the amulet of Kharnun. "This was my task, and I have completed it."
Norbert, however, was less happy with the news. He held out his hand and asked for the item.
"We stole the soul, and returned it to Kharnun, as it was stolen from Kharnun in the beginning"
"That was not the task." Norbert said.
"Give unto Kharnun what is his." I replied.
Norbert stalked off after a mean look, and I fear this is not the last we have heard from him or the orphanage.
Sunday
Hugo, the paladin of Ranaa, approached Theodoor, who was sitting to my left. The paladin was a pompous fool, and had obviously not realised yet what the black cord around my neck meant. Though I had hidden the amulet itself between my shift and my dress, the cords were an unusual sight.
"Theodoor, we should start soon. It is time that the bearer of the Amulet of Kharnun comes forward." Hugo looked Theodoor over, expecting to see an amulet pop out at any moment.
Theodoor glanced at me shortly, but Hugo missed the look. He did not even notice me at first, until I pulled the necklace free from the dress. For a moment or two he was speechless, and then he started babbling. "My lady, I understand that it must be hard to come out into the open with this, but I want you to know that I do appreciate your sacrifice."
I looked at my toes, as I always do around those people who are not my friends. The shy Marianne is so easy to play, and creates a wonderful barrier and is my greatest protection.
I slowly nodded, shyly looked into Hugo's eyes, and then cast them down again. Only then did I feel a hand on my chin. It was Theodoor's hand, trying to raise my head, to not be ashamed of my faith in front of this fool. Little does Theodoor know that my demeanor is my biggest lie, and that I look down on such men as Hugo, but I appreciated the gesture.
The Oracle arrived, and was greeting those who had the amulets of their Gods, to know them before the ritual would start. I had had a dream that orcs and this ritual were connected somehow, and some men were trying to build a barrier. Meanwhile, I sat down in the chair opposite the Oracle, and shyly told her my name. The Oracle held out her hand, and I laid my hand to hers. She drew a sharp breath and breathed "I know you, Marianne."
That was all that was needful before the time was there.
An outer circle with all nine of us with amulets, and the inner circle with the oracle and the tablet on which she would draw the new Pantheon. Any god not represented in the Pantheon would be unable to communicate with its followers, and there was the threat of the tenth God who wanted a place in the pantheon - all space, if possible.
Weapons were not allowed in the circles, and I hesitated but gave Victor his dagger back. We would probably be safer inside the circle than out.
The oracle started and placed us inside the inner circle, calling our names. She called forth our Gods, asking us to point to the place in the pantheon our God should possess. When my time came, I pointed to the inner circle - enough space there, possibly more than Kharnun had in the old Pantheon.
I hardly heard the sentries when the cry went out. "Orcs!!!"
The orcs were a small problem compared to what happened inside the circle. A mage appeared, and some woman with red streaming wings. Havoc broke loose as the young woman tried to push us outside the circle. She grabbed me by the throat, choking me. My hands on her wrists could not break her grip. "I do not want Kharnun here." she sneered, and pushed me outside the circle with force. I fell, hit the cobbled stones, gasped for breath. Within seconds, someone was at my side. Victor, my loyal Victor, wrapped his arms around me and I cried and sobbed because I had failed my God.
Someone told me I needed to get back in there and it was a woman, a priest of balance. "Use your amulet" she whispered, and I stood up, grabbed the amulet from my throat and held it against the ritual circle. The circle did not open, something was still in the way, and I told Victor to break the circle. All of a sudden, it was gone, and I stepped back inside.
The Oracle was distraught, the Pantheon disturbed, the woman --Alsema-- trying to get her way, to get her tenth god into the Pantheon and all our Gods out. The Oracle had slashed her wrists and was trying to create the lines of the Panteon with her own blood. I supported her, and then asked Theo Twijgsnijder to my right if he had a weapon on him.
"I have the dagger of Anmarack." he said, a strange glint in his eye.
"So be it, give it to me so I may help my God by spilling my blood."
Theo gave me the dagger, the sacrificial dagger of Anmarack that demands the sacrifice to lift the Curse of the Land. I held it steady in my right hand and opened the veins of my left wrist, my blood dripping on the Oracle's hands so she could use my blood to draw with as well.
I felt a little light-headed.
The Oracle toppled over, her strength depleted, and many people rushed to see to her, to heal her. I dug into a pouch we had fastened to my dress, and grabbed a potion before I would lose consciousness.
Outside the circle, Alsema had summoned ratlike beings to attack our friends, but inside she reigned with fury, throwing the faithful out of the circle and screeching the names of all our gods, whom she deemed to be unworthy of a place in the pantheon.
We helped the Oracle up and closed around the poor woman so she could complete her job. Alsema turned on us, and I tried to push her away but she grabbed me once more. She screamed a spell at me, and I felt a soaring pain in my chest, my heart seemed to stop, and I lost consciousness.
Theodoor had seen me fall, but every time Alsema called her ratlike beings to aid her, everyone was thrown back from the circle. He had had trouble reaching me, but he uncorked a potionbottle and tipped the contents into my mouth. Again I had been thrown back, and again my work was not done.
Once more I went inside the circle. One more time I took a dagger and opened the veins of my left wrist so the Oracle could finish her work. Alsema troubled us no more, her amulet of the tenth God had been placed inside the pantheon, and it was inside a large pool of blood.
"Place your amulets" the Oracle said breathlessly. "Help me."
Kharnun was placed, our blood surrounding his rightful place. Volkmar's amulet was broken, but the pieces placed and a space drawn, and Dinea's amulet was gone, but a replacement (or so the gnome thought) placed into the pantheon. All ten of the gods had, in the end, found their place and all places were marked with blood.
I felt very lightheaded this time.
When it was all done, again my friends supported me. They took me to a healer and placed a cup of tea in my hands. I had lost a lot of blood, but I was glad that Kharnun had a place marked in the Pantheon, and that I had not failed Him.
But many questions still remain unanswered.
~Anastaszia's tale~ Photo's
