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It was raining once again. The rain was different this time, though. It was more natural and neutral. It was not an evil rain, but it was still intense. I kept the horse running at a steady pace, slightly below her maximum speed. I didn't want to wear her out. There was still quite a ways to go. I rode her down the road the Hammers had built, of course. I must have been riding for an hour, a good half of my journey, when I saw something on the newly built road up ahead. My keen eyes identified it as a man carrying a lantern. He was standing in the middle of the road, waiting, for me no doubt.
As I grew near, I recognized the man. It was the same man I had seen twice this day, once when I first came to the lodge, and then when I was watching during the night. It was James.
**
Trudging through the mud and rain is not, in my opinion, a pleasant way to spend one's evening. Nevertheless, there I was, and that was what I was doing. I had gathered all the information I needed, and now all that was left was to present it to Daniel. My plan was to go home, compile it all into a document, and have a man deliver it to the camp, where Daniel was most likely staying.
I paused on my journey as the distinct sound of horse hooves hitting mud at a gallop was caught by my ear. I did an about-face, and cast my gaze down the road, curious to see who my guest would be. Within moments, I noted that it was indeed Daniel, behaving rather unexpectedly, once again. I opened the shutters on my lantern so that he may see me. It took him long enough to get to where I was standing. I would have told him to 'get a horse,' but he had one. At last, here he was, and spoke first.
"I saw you, twice."
"Yes I know," I replied quickly. "The first time was several moments after you arrived at the lodge. You saw me out of the corner of your left eye as I stood forty paces away, mostly concealed behind a large rock." He grinned as I said this, so I continued. "The second time was when I was investigating the post Hammerited villa, or what was left of what was left of it."
"Yes," he said, "You were startled by something you saw on the stump. Was it the stream of metal?"
"No," I said, "and if you will let me deliver my report, I shall tell you all about it.
He put down the horses reigns, but remained mounted. "Please, go on."
"Well, it's a fair amount to tell, so bear with me. As you have discovered, matters are looking unpleasant. First, the information that we have dug up in our researches." Getting no reaction from him, I proceeded.
"I came out here to fully confirm the suspicions I hinted at earlier, and which research had given shape. The Lady is no normal threat. The streets have produced no information yet save one informant who was killed before making her rendezvous; others clearly know of the Lady but are too terrified to speak. So much would indicate strong current coercive power. However, a curious glyph was left carved on our informant's back after she was killed; and this has been a worrisome clue."
"She?" he said with slight alarm in his voice. "Who?"
"Swantella was her name. You never met her." He nodded, and I proceeded.
"The same glyph that was found on her back has been found in a number of references Corinne has dug out of the archive; and there, too, it is only referenced en passant and in tones of terror. The power behind the glyph is linked to the Trickster and the Wood, but as a sometime ally, not as a servant. Certainly a dark and chaotic force, in any event, and ill-disposed towards men. Is the use of the glyph in this age merely an accident? I think not. Is it a false lead, set by a normal enemy to deceive, or to wear the mantle of an ancient terror? Again, I suspected not. The terror is forgotten for long years in the records, only to crop up anew when it has slid from memory. So I decided I needed to have a look at this villa, or lodge as Jyre called it, and my trip there has confirmed my darkest suspicions. Incidentally, Corinne discovered a small fact about it: it wasn't listed in the Hammer records because, quite simply, it hadn't existed 2 years ago. Quite a feat. Let me explain what I have found there."
I could see Daniel was getting impatient with my long-windedness. I wondered where he was going in such a hurry. I tried to describe events quickly, so that he would not loose interest and dash off before I was done.
"You passed along a report on the shape of the villa: 'In the shape of a Pentagram, with towers on each corner'. The structure I found me had no towers. Instead, piles of something adorned each corner of the star. As I watched, part of the structure collapsed, and I moved cautiously towards it."
"Yes, I saw," Daniel interrupted. I simply nodded and continued.
"It stank. The piles on each corner were skin and bones, of a wide variety of creatures, mostly humans. Doors - or rents? - had appeared in the strange material forming each facet of the house. I entered, carefully inserting a small iron nail into the strange fabric of the "door" to create a path out in the event of sorcery. The interaction of iron and Woodsie magics is not fully understood; does forged metal gain a magic of its own from the work of its creation, in the same way that building a structure in the earth can enforce on some creatures its floor plan of walls, doors, and windows long after the structure has crumbled into dust? Or is it more simply a matter of direct counteraction, the logical physical reality of iron dismissing the arcane psychological glamour of the ancients of the Wood? But I digress."
Daniel nodded me to get back to the main tale.
"Gone were the rich trappings and careful corridors of the report. Inside the villa I found little; not even walls, for it had become a hollow shell. In the dimly lit center I found an enormous oaken stump, ripped off at a height of perhaps 3 meters. Something, probably the remains of the central tower, was draped over the top of the break. On the south side of the stump, a stairway which appeared to have grown, rather than been carved, lead downwards. I entered, driving a small iron nail into the footing of the first step. The stairway lead down for some 4 meters, and then opened out into a room whose roof was formed from the spreading secondary roots of the tree. Peering about in the light of my torch, I discovered that little was left here, either, though the stench suggested a slaughterhouse. To the west I found another stairway leading down, and on the ground near it, a small fragment of a clay tablet. Wedging my torch between a set of roots, I pulled the tablet out of the ground for a closer look. It read, 'dead thoughts'."
I handed the tablet to Daniel. He reached down and took it, and turned it over several times in his hands, examining it. He read it out loud. "Dead thoughts."
"The reference was clear; the full chant ran through my head." I recited the chant for Daniel, to refresh his memory.
"Yes," he said, "I know that one well." He handed the tablet back to me. I took it, pocketed it, and continued.
"This villa must have been a temple of the Wood, active recently, and after the demise of the Trickster, and apparently run by a Lady. The inference is clear: The Lady of the Wood, the Faery Queen of legend, the Queen of Night, the Viktoria of last summer's events, is still active despite her husband's demise. I doubt she has become any more kindly disposed towards humanity for her loss. Her activity also clarified the speed of the villa's construction, and the meaning of its sudden collapse:
"The villa, constructed of human skin and bones, had been given fairer form by the will of the Queen; and with her departure, the glamour was wearing off. I wondered at the time what would become of the poor souls she had trapped to power the spell; but as you know, they have been granted release. I concluded it was best to vacate the premises before the collapse completed itself, in case it included the stairway I had used to come into the Temple. Indeed, the stairway was becoming less stair-like, and the nail I had driven into the wood had begun to glow red-hot in its opposition to the magic in the wood. The skin and bone structure of the villa was also far less sound when I arrived again on the surface. The structural change was disorienting, but the path formed with iron held true and drew my steps out to safety."
I paused to see if any reaction was coming from Daniel. I saw none, so I went on.
"I waited and watched when the Hammers arrived. You were obviously among them, so I shan't go into detail on the events which you witnessed first hand. I confess that despite my distaste for many of the Hammer's ways, I was moved to murmur the prayer along with the Hammers at the human remains were cremated. Did my glance mistake itself, or did your lips speak the prayer too, Daniel? I was too far away to be sure. Once the fire was coals, and the screams of those once-tormented souls faded into peace, the main Hammerite force, including the captain and the priest, departed, leaving only a small token guard behind, and yourself."
Daniel nodded. "And still, you investigated once more after we had settled for the night. What did you hope to see?"
"If you wait a moment, I shall tell you. You of course noted that there was a large stump which was not destroyed by the Hammerites. It was this same stump, beneath witch I found this tablet, of course. I moved to investigate. Where once there was a stairwell, now there was nothing. The stump had sealed itself somehow. I then noted my nail, which had melted further and ran, becoming a cooling streak of metal running downward, spanning the trunk, and the wood it touched had turned to ash."
"Yes, I noted that."
"You investigated after I had departed?"
He nodded a yes. "James, tell me of Jyre and Els."
" Shall in a moment, Daniel, but first I have a other matters to report as well. Some days ago, I concluded it was necessary to perform a somewhat drastic act, against the event of our needing to oppose this Lady. At the Circle there was a curious iron stone that fell from the stars. I have previously mentioned to you the potential power of this item. It is time to use that potential. I have taken the stone to a smith whose discretion and skill I have the greatest regard for, and from it he is cold-forging a weapon we may need in opposing the Lady. Have no doubts, it will be expensive, but I think it will prove worthwhile."
He was silent, listing intently. I noticed that the rain had died down, so I no longer needed to speak with the same volume.
"I do not know what exactly the Lady plans, but these are my suspicions. Last year, Garrett destroyed the Trickster with a Hammerite device. Normally, the Trickster's High Priest - then Constantine - is replaced by his successor in ritual single combat. Garrett did not destroy the Trickster in that ritual combat, and thus the line was not extended. It is probable that Viktoria intends to ritually kill the Trickster in order to assume unto herself the powers of both the Wood and Faery. Thus arrayed she would be a formidable force, as the bickering that has traditionally divided Chaos might be, dare we say it, ordered by a single will, and thus be a much greater threat. We must think carefully on our next step."
His brow furrowed, showing deep concern. I went on.
"The man called Els, who visited you, was killed several nights ago, and I suspect it is the Lady's work." At that, Daniel grew outwardly disturbed, but did not speak. "In addition, Jyre apparently took a job from Ramirez into the Forbidden Sector, and has not been heard of since. I have strong suspicions of links between the Lady and Ramirez, probably originally through Bafford but later more direct. You said that they had left the Lady's service, and I suspect this is her vengeance. She directly slew Els, and indirectly slew Jyre by sending her on a suicide mission via Ramirez, who was acting as her pawn."
"Damn," he said. He spoke under his breath, words which I read his lips to say, "You fool, you let them both die." I pretended that I did not see him say that, and just watched and waited for him to do or say something.
"That's all I have to report on them at this time. I would have more on those two, but people of their social class do not normally have records, and I had all my resources devoted to the Lady."
Daniel seemed frozen, and then suddenly reanimated. "Thank you James." At that, he sped away on his horse.
I should have paid more attention to that; I should have realized he was losing his sense of detachment, and would do something rash. But I was exhausted, and my only thought, as I trudged home, was, "Builder's hairy bollocks, Dan, you might have given me a lift!"
Builds your roofs of dead wood.
Builds your walls of dead stone.
Builds your dreams of dead thoughts.
Comes crying laughing singing back to life,
Takes what you steal,
And pulls the skins from your dead bones shrieking.
And when learns the Woodsie Lord of this,
He sends His beastesses to the manfools,
Who attacks and hammers saws their useless fleshes
And build him a house of they rotting skins....
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