You are the Stars

Godwyn, Agnes, and Eustace uncover Paul's past and help him understand his magical powers, as told by Eustace the grog.

It was end of Winter when the stores are low and promise of Spring and warmer weather is a constant lure for a young man like Eustace.

Having just finished some repairs to the Council Room's door, I was caught gazing onto the courtyard below when Agnes appeared as if by magic behind me. "I'm going for a walk, want to come along?" An innocent question which is rarely so for when a Wizard asks to go for a walk one must be ready for just about anything. With this in mind, I grabbed an enchanted tunic, a sword, and a staff before meeting her in the courtyard for a winter's walk.

"Where are we going?" I asked as we started down the road to Barstow. "To Godwyn's Woods to talk with Paul." Silence was as much a reply as words, for Godwyn was not like the other Magi. He was wild, preferring to live in his haunted chase over the comforts of Stranggore's manor house; that and he liked to keep the company of outlaws. Paul was one of them, a deformed man which rumor has it was stealing from the fields of Barstow during the famine. "Oh." I replied. I looked over Agnes. She seemed to have aged. Her dress and appearance was more a kin to Merewen; no longer was she wearing a dirty smock with her hair pulled back with string. She looked serious and I wondered if she had changed.

We walked off the road and turned down a trail. "Hey Agnes, learn any tricks?" I asked, hoping to see a little magic.

She smiled a little and said, "Watch this..." she scanned the trees and saw an unfortunate squirrel peeking out from behind a tree. She canted a quick spell and the squirrel dropped out of the tree as if hit by a rock and lay on the ground motionless. She released the spell and the squirrel revived and limped out of sight. "Don't worry, I didn't hurt it much." She smiled again and this time I managed only a weak smile back.

Entering the woods near Stranggore is something one should never do. There is magic around Stranggore and not all of it has been tamed by our wizards. The woods here have Faeries and other darker creatures in them which are best left alone, and Godwyn being one of them. Agnes led the way and, not having much choice, I followed. It doesn't make sense but one can't help but feel like something's dinner while walking into these woods. The thought of running crossed my mind, but I didn't -- I'd never live it down if I did.

We approached the camp being sure to be loud as we walked. Paul and Godwyn were practicing fighting. Godwyn dodged in and out of the trees adeptly slapping the limping form of Paul who, despite the humiliation, doggedly kept coming after him. Panting but not out of breath Godwyn approached Agnes and greeted her formally, "Morning Agnes, daughter of Merewen. What brings you to my home?" to which she replied in kind.

"Greetings, Godwyn. I bring news for Paul." At which point we were invited into his cabin to warm up. Though rustic, he kept a remarkably pleasant house. No skulls, batwings, or smelly herbs adorned the walls, just food stores, trapping supplies, and piles of fur pelts. Agnes took a seat and accepted the host's ale which I must admit, despite it being a poor northern man's drink, was very drinkable. Once all were comfortable she relayed her news, "I was talking with John the Pedlar who last night returned from Essex where he was getting supplies. On his way back he traveled through Starfield..." she looked at Paul whose twisted face was a mixture of anticipation and fear, "and brought news that Father Ryan was sick and ..." Paul jumped up and grabbed a sack stuffed it with a few handfuls of provisions and ran out the door.

We all looked at Godwyn who took a sip of his drink and sighed, "We should go with him as he is likely going to hurt himself if we don't. Take your time; he's going to exhaust himself at that pace and we'll catch up to him before dark." Finishing his ale and then Paul's, he handed me a rucksack and started filling it with provisions. Picking up a pack of his own, already prepared for travel, we headed out with Agnes to catch up with Paul.

We caught up with an exhausted Paul, only ten miles down the Fosse Way. Being that it was near dark and there were no towns nearby, Godwyn led us into the woods where he quickly found a sheltered spot and sent me out to collect firewood. With an armload of wood I started back following my old tracks back to the camp. I was thinking I was lost and was just about to turn back when Godwyn approached and said something about me walking in circles and asked to carry some wood. Not wanting to argue with a magus, I let him take half the wood and followed him back to the campsite. There he used steel and flint to start a fire and soon we were warming some dried venison in small pot by the fire. Paul did not look well at all. He had pushed himself too hard and was barely conscious throughout dinner. Agnes got him to eat and soon after he fell asleep under a pile of deer skin. Wrapped in my cloak I laid close to the fire and went to sleep.

When I awoke, Godwyn had already packed his bag and was ready to travel. I gathered my bedding and chewed a handful of oats as we walked south toward Essex. We made good time, leaving early, and by noon we had already passed Ilchester. It was about a league after that which we saw two men tending to a wounded man crying in pain in the road. At Godwyn's urging I jogged ahead. I quickly saw that the man was faking his injury. I yelled to them, "I'll get help stay there." and ran back to the magus. I mouthed, "Its a trap." At which point he said, "Run for it." Arrows hit the ground from two previously unseen archers, blocking our retreat. "To the woods!" cried Agnes and she was off like a cat dragging the cumbersome Paul towards the tree line. Godwyn and I followed behind holding the rear as the three bandits grabbed their weapons from the ground and charged. More arrows were shot and this time at Agnes. My fear turned to anger as I glanced back at the archers.

Godwyn stopped his retreat and scanned the ground, "Wood, where is that damn wood." I handed him my staff. "Draw your sword." he commanded and then he transformed the staff into a jagged barbed spear which he sent flying, impaling the far archer. At the sight of magic, one of the three bandits broke his charge and ran the other way, yet two of the bandits continued their charge, intent on causing bloody harm. Leaving the axe man to Godwyn, I drew my sword and charged the bandit with the sword. His look of surprise as my sword pierced his armor is one I won't soon forget. His surprise turned to anger and he landed a blow on my shoulder which if it were not for the magic tunic would have cleaved me to the bone. More arrows flew at Agnes and this time one hit Paul, who cried in pain. I tried to break free from the melee but the wounded swordsman was determined to make me pay with blood for daring to fight back. Clenching his side blood oozing from between his fingers, he swung hard and wide and was easy to dodge but dangerous to disengage. Paul now wounded in the leg and could not move at all, so Agnes stopped her retreat and started using her magic. From her lips old words were spoken and a wave of cold flowed past me like a breathless winter wind and hit the archer, who stumbled back, frost covering his bearded face. After another stumbling attack from the swordsman, I managed to break free and charge the archer. I glanced back only to see Godwyn facing off, knife in hand, against a now disarmed bandit. The panicked archer tried to notch another arrow but all too soon my blow landed right below his iron cap. Blood running down his neck, he dropped his bow and begged for mercy. Though I felt enraged by his targeting of Agnes, I held my sword and ordered him to the ground. He hesitated so I kicked him hard and he fell to the ground. I soon had his hands tied with his own bowstring and turned back to help Godwyn.

The axe man was now fleeing for his life from a large wolf who expertly tripped and then straddled the now helpless bandit, whose terror only increased when the wolf transformed into a man. "You attacked a member of the Order of Hermes. Be thankful that you are alive. Never repeat this mistake." At which he let the man go. "Good work. Are you hurt?" he said as he approached.

"Not very. What do you want to do with him?" Godwyn stared deep into the the mans eyes and with a beastly growl told him to go home and never revert to banditry again, at which the man staggered away, clutching his neck.

Anges magically sealed Paul's wounds but he still suffered and was not fit for travel. With little choice we walked slowly south. As luck would have it a farmer with an ass and cart was driving south. After expressing our great need and paying him a hearty handful of silver, he parted with his property. After the farmer hurried off, to our annoyance we found that the ass would not move, so Godwyn reverted to magic. Staring deeply into the ass's eyes, he commanded the beast to pull -- which it did, very hard and very quickly, leaving me and Godwyn behind as the cart raced down the icy road with a wounded Paul and Agnes sitting in the back. That Agnes is not like those simple girls in the village. She pulled herself up and grabbed the reins and managed to bring the ass to a halt. Once the beast had rested, we tried a more mundane solution. Grabbing a handful of hay from the cart, I slowly walked ahead, feeding the ass as we went. We soon made good time and arrived a village where the local leech tended to our wounds. We stayed in a barn and ate simple but good fare, glad to not be sleeping another night outside.

Our journey to Starfield went near Exeter so Godwyn insisted on a detour to visit the cathedral. Being in the Norman style and completed only within the last fifty years, the holy building is large and awe inspiring, filled with glass and light and seeming to defy its own weight. I bestowed in quiet whispers what I could about the structure and its building but it seemed Godwyn was more interested in the holy relics: a bit of the famed flaming bush from which God spoke and a candle lit by an angel which light saw His resurrection. While Godwyn and Paul prayed, Agnes and I snuck around. We accidentally wandered into some private areas and even found a room filled with more than a hundred books. An attending monk saw us and hastily escorted us away before we could look further. Godwyn gave generously and soon we were back on the road.

Upon approaching the village of Starfield we first saw Father Ryan's old stone church. It lay outside the village closer to the hills that sheltered the village and its fields. We entered the church. The door hung off its hinge and the floor was unswept. We went into the back room, where we found Father Ryan in bed with a fever. Paul tried to revive him but he would not wake. I started the fire and put on a kettle. Speaking with Paul was difficult and after some prying I got the name of a family who had stayed with his church throughout the hard times. I found the villager named Arnold whose wife had been tending to Father Ryan. He seemed suspicious, but I warmed him up by sharing my genuine concern for the priest. We brought him his meal and discussed further the decline in Father Ryan's health. They were kind to Paul. The wizards kept quiet for the most part and I made up some story about Agnes being a foreigner spending time with her uncle to explain why she was there at all. They did not object to us staying with Father Ryan and we settled in hoping to make Father Ryan well enough to travel back to Stranggore.

After talking with Mildred, an old hag who still came by the church, Agnes and I went in search of the local midwife who was said to use herbs. Mary was her name and she was downright mean. She refused to help Father Ryan and almost spit in my eye when I mentioned Paul. I broke out the silver and pleaded. Three pennies later, I had a basket full of herbs and Agnes was pleased. She said she was going to try to cure Father Ryan though she confided that it did not look good for him.

Soon the church was filled with the medicinal smells of herbs brewing. Agnes spent the next week deep in her art, tending to Father Ryan as he declined. His breathing became more labored and it was clear he was close to death, but still she did what she could to make him comfortable until the potion was ready. During this time I got to know the local villages. I found out that Paul's mother had been a young woman named Sarah who had her baby out of wedlock. She refused to expose the father and died soon after the birthing, taking this secret with her. Rumor has it Paul was born even more deformed than he appeared now and was not even human. Against the village elders ruling to give the child to the Fae, Father Ryan took the boy in and raised him as his own. Attendance dwindled and when the famine hit, only two families still attended Mass, when they were held at all. Poverty befell the priest and soon after, he got a lingering sickness and started wasting. Little was done to aid the Father for it was 'God's punishment' and most villagers were now attending Mass in the neighboring town.

Godwyn, with time on his hands, took to exploring the area. One night he brought me into the hills to look at the stars. We both were quite puzzled when we failed to recognize any of the constellations. This led Godwyn to investigate magically and soon he stated we were in a magical aura. He were trying to pull the reflections of some stars out of a pool which he said contained Vis - pure magic - when I spied a figure upon a near by hill. We climbed the hill and met a tall robed man in black with distant stars for eyes. His name was Duke Hesmesh and he was obviously a creature of magic. He loved his stars and while we talked, he gazed into the sky, watching them and sometimes moving them for his pleasure. He spoke of how he would change the stars for those who lay upon his hill and give them blessings. We gathered that Paul's mother and her lover met upon this hill and that is how he came to be enchanted. We made our leave and the next night we brought Agnes and Paul to meet the Duke. There Paul learned what kind of man he is; that he was not twisted by evil or by good, but by magic. Paul and the Duke talked some time alone among the stars and Paul returned changed, his head held a little higher.

The next morning we gave Father Ryan the elixir to restore his health. He gurgled down the smelly green liquid and for a day he seemed to get better. He awoke, and he and Paul prayed together. That night he died. We stayed for his burial and then returned home to Stranggore.