The next morning, Abul goes to see the foreign visitors. At the Bull and Bow, he does not see Jonthan Hoyer, but the bartender recognizes him by the description given and says the visitors are in room three. He heads up and knocks on the door.
They introduce themselves as Alonso Villacres: Archaeologist, and Dr. Barnaby Seymour: Naturalist. They discuss recent events, and explain that they were working at a dig site in Montaigne near the border of Castille, and were captured by agents of the Inquisition. Fortunately, they were able to escape from the local prison before being transported to Vaticine City, and have been on the run ever since. Simon Poulsen became aware of the situation, and it amused him to take the opportunity to tweak the nose of the Inquisition, and so arranged for the two scientists to be brought to Klorhulg shortly after the Inquisitors searching for them left the town. Abul offers his assistance in anything they might need.
Pattern Recognition, Part 4
Signe is awakened by Ragna early in the morning. Her first attempt to cook breakfast goes badly, and the eggs are burnt. Ragna takes over, and after they’ve eaten, they set about doing some household chores. At around lunch time, they head down to the lake. Ragna picks up a small flat stone, and tasks Signe with collecting 29 more of roughly the same size and shape. While Signe busies herself with this, Ragna catches some fish for lunch.
Back at the shack, Ragna fries up the fish while Signe draws the runes on the stones one at a time with a charcoal pencil, following it up with carving them VERY carefully with a small chisel. This takes several hours.
Ragna brings in a rabbit she caught in a snare, kills it, and drains its blood into a bowl. She gives instructions on how to consecrate the stones using the blood, and Signe goes through the ritual for each stone in turn. The rabbit is served for supper.
At about 10pm, Ragna takes Signe out back and they build a bonfire. Ragna gives her instructions on how to meditate on the fire. Signe does her best, but ends up falling asleep. Ragna wakes her up after four hours and they head back to the house.
Enzo and Rasmus go to lunch at a dive bar. They discuss the new recruits, as well as the road ahead. Enzo gets the idea to kidnap Signe’s parents. Rasmus is incredulous when he realizes Enzo is serious. Enzo clarifies that they only need to kidnap one of them, preferably Signe’s mother. Then the scheme would be severely weakened as Signe’s father attempts to hold it together on his own. They agree it’s something to consider. Enzo points out that the sooner they attempt it the better, as it’s still likely that Signe herself is not yet suspected, and may still have access to the Odynsee offices in Vendel.
The next day, it’s more of the same for Signe. This time she does not burn breakfast, and the household chores are completed much quicker.
Ragna shows her how to scry in a bowl of water. Signe sees a vision of a sharp-faced man with a nasty burn on the left side of his face. Ragna confirms that it is Asger Jacobsen, leader of the Vesten Raiders.
Signe spends the afternoon varnishing her new rune set, and sealing in the blood. At sunset, they build another bonfire. Signe spends quite a long time staring into the flames, and seems to be on the edge of seeing something, but it’s just out of reach.
Trust No One, Part 2
Abul receives a visit from Jonathan Hoyer, who says that Alfonso and Barnaby would like to speak to him. They head to Room 3 at the Bull and Bow, and Alfonso says that he and Barnaby have discussed the matter, and they have decided to trust Abul as a fellow man of science. They confirm that they are in fact members of the Invisible College, a secret organization created to combat the growing influence of the Inquisition, and dedicated to the advancement of science, medicine, and technology. They ask Abul, as ship’s surgeon aboard the Magpie, to deliver a message to their colleagues in Carleone, informing them that Alfonso and Barnaby are safe and sound, but currently laying low in Vesten, hopefully away from the prying eyes of the Inquisition. Abul says he doesn’t know when they will next set sail or when they will travel to Carleone, but agrees to deliver the message.
Enzo procures supplies to bring with him the next time he heads to the cove. He stores them at Ulfgar’s longhouse.
The morning of the third day, Signe and Ragna go through the morning routine again. Ragna has made a bag for Signe’s runes using the rabbit skin.
That evening, Signe goes hunting. She catches another rabbit, and takes it out into the woods, leaves it in a clearing, and hides. Before long a wolf comes along. It is suspicious of the dead animal, but eventually approaches. Signe uses the Beast rune again to speak to the wolf, who is cautious but not surprised, as it has spoken with Ragna before. Signe makes a deal with the wolf to assist in chasing down a deer, and they will split the meat.
Signe comes back with half a deer, and dinner is prepared. Afterward, they build the bonfire again. This time, Signe is able to see something. First she sees herself speaking with the bear when searching for Ulfgar. Then she sees Abul talking to two strangers in town. The third scene is of her parents at the Odynsee office. A servant delivers a letter, and when Signe’s mother opens and reads it, her expression is stoic but calm. She hands it to Signe’s father, and when he reads it he reacts with rage, grabbing a bronze inkwell and throwing it against the wall. Signe’s mother reacts sharply, and her father crumples the letter and throws it in the fireplace, and the vision fades.
# NotPirates