Are all these prompts about the recent town elections? What exactly is the problem here, apart from some people running who probably should have had more self-awareness? You seem... worried :)
Ran over a bit; I hope this is interesting, since it's certainly not exciting :)
Impending Elizabeth was silent. Lord Vileburn shifted books, papers and a brass sextant, which he looked at as though puzzled, from a chair and sat down. There was a stiffness to his movements that suggested he was more tired than he looked, which would be an achievement. "We've only just discovered the use of chained magic," she said at last. "So while that is becoming relevant, it's not what started all this off." "No," agreed Lord Vileburn. He lifted a hand and tiny motes of light appeared and started orbiting his fingers. He gently shifted them around, watching the lights follow. "No, what started all of this, if you look at it carefully, is the Treat of Lieges, which was signed about seventy years ago, give or take, by King Stephen II." "The Misanthropist?" Lord Vileburn's smile turned into laughter. "That would earn you a stay in the Tower during his reign," he said. "Unless he found out about it, in which case you'd be dragged out for execution. The Coachyard has an interesting history all of it's own if you're enjoying digging through the books. But yes, he didn't seem to like anyone really. The Treaty should have been fine though, it just limited the use and research into demonology and led to the Blue Monday agreement a decade later, where access to places like Carcosa was magically restricted."
"That all sounds like good things," said Elizabeth slowly. She worried her lower lip with her teeth. "That would be why most demonology now is theoretical and we have to obtain special licence to do anything practical." Lord Vileburn inclined his head slightly, and two of the tiny lights around his fingers broke away to orbit around his nose instead. "Mostly," he said. "Like all things, there are at least two levels to this. There are some people who have a permanent licence, for example." "There are such things?" "Yes. And I'm telling you because it's likely that we'll be asking you to apply for one." Elizabeth's shock was visible: her face fell, then rose with hope, and she leaned back against the bookcase as though needing support. "I... I'm flattered. No, I'm honoured. I have... I have no idea why though. What have I done?" "There's an element of bureaucracy," said Lord Vileburn. He poked at the lights around his nose and they, reluctantly it seemed, rejoined those around his fingers. "It seems very likely that Dignity is dead, and if Derby confirms that then we need to replace them. They held such a licence. There's an element of ability. You are a very accomplished researcher and from an academic perspective you are a strong candidate for such a role." There was another silence, and then Elizabeth sighed and pushed herself back upright. "And there's a political element too, isn't there?" she said. "It's not a coincidence that I've been put where I've found all this out and then get told there's a significant position opening up." Lord Vileburn smiled, and though it was tired it looked genuine. "Yes," he said. "There is. And there's a personal element. The committee who will review the applications all know you." "Well, I think I'm still flattered," said Elizabeth. "Though you seem to have tried to take all the glory out of the job." "Hah! Well, there's usually a test as well," said Lord Vileburn. "This time round it's a bit more... practical than usual. We discovered last night that someone's cut off access to two of the Enclaves, and by geometry, that means Carcosa as well. The likely candidates would be your mysterious sorcerers in Shoreditch. You need to break their spell."
Interesting? Absolutely. Though now that I'm finally caught up I'm feeling a strong itch to return to Derby, if only to see that he hasn't managed to get himself into even more trouble...
3 comments:
Are all these prompts about the recent town elections? What exactly is the problem here, apart from some people running who probably should have had more self-awareness? You seem... worried :)
Ran over a bit; I hope this is interesting, since it's certainly not exciting :)
Impending
Elizabeth was silent. Lord Vileburn shifted books, papers and a brass sextant, which he looked at as though puzzled, from a chair and sat down. There was a stiffness to his movements that suggested he was more tired than he looked, which would be an achievement.
"We've only just discovered the use of chained magic," she said at last. "So while that is becoming relevant, it's not what started all this off."
"No," agreed Lord Vileburn. He lifted a hand and tiny motes of light appeared and started orbiting his fingers. He gently shifted them around, watching the lights follow. "No, what started all of this, if you look at it carefully, is the Treat of Lieges, which was signed about seventy years ago, give or take, by King Stephen II."
"The Misanthropist?"
Lord Vileburn's smile turned into laughter. "That would earn you a stay in the Tower during his reign," he said. "Unless he found out about it, in which case you'd be dragged out for execution. The Coachyard has an interesting history all of it's own if you're enjoying digging through the books. But yes, he didn't seem to like anyone really. The Treaty should have been fine though, it just limited the use and research into demonology and led to the Blue Monday agreement a decade later, where access to places like Carcosa was magically restricted."
"That all sounds like good things," said Elizabeth slowly. She worried her lower lip with her teeth. "That would be why most demonology now is theoretical and we have to obtain special licence to do anything practical."
Lord Vileburn inclined his head slightly, and two of the tiny lights around his fingers broke away to orbit around his nose instead. "Mostly," he said. "Like all things, there are at least two levels to this. There are some people who have a permanent licence, for example."
"There are such things?"
"Yes. And I'm telling you because it's likely that we'll be asking you to apply for one."
Elizabeth's shock was visible: her face fell, then rose with hope, and she leaned back against the bookcase as though needing support.
"I... I'm flattered. No, I'm honoured. I have... I have no idea why though. What have I done?"
"There's an element of bureaucracy," said Lord Vileburn. He poked at the lights around his nose and they, reluctantly it seemed, rejoined those around his fingers. "It seems very likely that Dignity is dead, and if Derby confirms that then we need to replace them. They held such a licence.
There's an element of ability. You are a very accomplished researcher and from an academic perspective you are a strong candidate for such a role."
There was another silence, and then Elizabeth sighed and pushed herself back upright.
"And there's a political element too, isn't there?" she said. "It's not a coincidence that I've been put where I've found all this out and then get told there's a significant position opening up."
Lord Vileburn smiled, and though it was tired it looked genuine.
"Yes," he said. "There is. And there's a personal element. The committee who will review the applications all know you."
"Well, I think I'm still flattered," said Elizabeth. "Though you seem to have tried to take all the glory out of the job."
"Hah! Well, there's usually a test as well," said Lord Vileburn. "This time round it's a bit more... practical than usual. We discovered last night that someone's cut off access to two of the Enclaves, and by geometry, that means Carcosa as well. The likely candidates would be your mysterious sorcerers in Shoreditch. You need to break their spell."
Greg - an impending birthday, that's all :)
Interesting? Absolutely. Though now that I'm finally caught up I'm feeling a strong itch to return to Derby, if only to see that he hasn't managed to get himself into even more trouble...
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