Lab Accident

1202, Late Winter

Lucien realized that this would save him quite a bit of effort, for on several occasions he had been sent to the village with clothing and been joined there by Osprey, who returned to human form and then dressed himself in the garb Lucien had brought.

The work on this spell had led naturally into a discussion of the Art of Animal, and Osprey was tutoring Lucien in developing his own version of the spell "Decay of Fur and Hide." They had also discovered a quick of Lucien's magic, a certain looseness to it that would make it difficult for him to truly master his spellcasting.

Frustrated with his shortcoming, Lucien tried to concentrate but to no avail. Nevertheless, he was pleased at the breakthrough if for no other reason that it helped Osprey and might give him some insight into his own spell.

The two were at work when they heard a distant thumping sound, both realized that it must have been very loud to travel through the tunnels in that fashion.

Lucien jerked his eyes to Osprey and started for the doorway. "Where did that come from?" he inquired quickly reaching his top speed.

Lucien's sharp ears led him to believe the sound came from the direction of the Twins' laboratory.

"Take the torch and go see," said Osprey whose lameness meant he could not match Lucien's speed on the ground and whose wingspan was too large to move quickly through the corridors. "I can light my own way." Osprey spoke the words of Creo and Ignem and clenched a fist, which began to glow with a dim light.

Where Osprey was limited, Lucien's quickness and maneuverability came in handy as he lighted off down the winding passages to the Twins' laboratory. The torch he carried shuddered in the journey, and Lucien hoped that it would not go out.

As he approached the Twins' lab, he nearly slipped - the stone was wet. He arrived at the lab to find Maria, the servant who worked most closely with the Twins, hovering over the two magi.

It was clear that something had gone horribly wrong. The area was flooded and shattered glassware was everywhere. The Twins themselves were leaning against a wall, huddled together, and breathing in ragged gasps. They were both bleeding from numerous small cuts and it looked as though each had a broken arm, one left and one right.

"What happened?" Lucien blurted out and immediately regretted it. Lucien felt powerless to help, for his abilities extended into different realms. He looked over to Maria, "Master Osprey is on his way, is there anything I can do?" He approached the trio and tried to comfort the fallen twins.

Maria rattled in Italian, then switched to halting Languedoc, "I hear boom! Come here, mistresses ..." she pointed nearly in tears.

"We overextended," said one twin. "Ourselves," completed the other. They spoke that way often, completing the thoughts and speeches as if they were one being with two bodies. "We fear ... we are sore hurt." They were barely conscious. "We have cast healing magic ... on ourselves. But when the sun sets ... we shall be in greater ... danger than now."

"You fools," barked a voice from behind Lucien. He was shocked to hear Terrus speak, shocked that Terrus had ventured out from his laboratory. The gruff and dirty founder of the covenant stood in the ankle deep water looking about him with distaste.

"Terrus," said the Twins. "Perhaps we are ... but you may not have to deal with us ... much longer. We are as you see us ... with the Chirurgeons' Healing Touch sustaining us. When that spell wanes, so shall we."

"Bah!" Terrus looked around. "You, apprentice." He pointed at Lucien. "Go to the Vis stores, fetch some reeds, the ones with the white heads. Bring all the bundles here." He turned back to the injured Twins. "With Vis you can support yourselves. Damn you."

Lucien flinched under the barrage of harsh tones. Barely raising his eyes, he scampered out of the room to retrieve the needed reeds. Thankful to be out of the laboratory, the young apprentice took each turn with reckless abandon mixing in a tumble here and there where it would maintain his haste.

In the Vis stored, he quickly gathered all the white headed reed bundles he could see. Since he had gathered some of them, he knew that they were charged with raw Creo Vis.

By the time he returned to the ruined lab, Osprey had arrived and was trying to calm Terrus. When he saw Lucien, he called to him. "Give the Vis to the Twins," and returned to his whispered conversation with Terrus.

The Twins accepted the Vis and each, in turn, made the signs and said that words that Lucien knew meant they were working Creo Corpus magic. As each completed the spell, the wound on the others knit up and bundles or reeds withered to dried husks. When both had cast their spells, the Vis was used up completely.

"Harrumph," Terrus turned to look at the Twins. He started to say something the shook his head. Grabbing his Torch of Sweet Air, he stomped off down the tunnel.

"Thank you ..." said the Twins to Lucien. They rose slowly to their feet. "We think," they looked at each other and nodded, "that the worst is past. We shall need rest ... and will nurse each other back to strength. Maria, help us to our Sanctum."

Osprey and Lucien watched them go.

Lucien took a step and the glass crunched under his feet. "This place looks as the Twins feel" he commented aloud to Osprey. Lucien then called upon the ways of Rego Terram, not his strong suit, in hopes to clear some of the glass away into a corner. If that failed then there was always the broom.

A small glass chip drifted toward the wall at his command, but nothing more. Osprey smiled, "A valiant attempt. But leave it, Maria will clean up when the waters have fallen." He looked around the lab and walked to the table where a pile of stone blocks lay. "The Twins are fortunate that these were not damaged, Terrus is angry enough as it is." He chuckled, "They will have to work to get back into his good graces. If he has good graces."

Lucien noted inwardly Osprey's optimism where Terrus was concerned. He certainly didn't want to rely upon something as rare as the mage's good graces. The youngster shuffled out of the laboratory, wary of the dangers in magical research. "I am glad we are finished with your spell of clothing," he looked back over his shoulder at the destruction.

Osprey took his meaning. "Things are rarely so dangerous as this. We have sometimes pushed ourselves beyond the completely safe, though," he reminded Lucien. "We experimented for nearly two years before my pendant was complete."

Lucien did remember. Though Osprey's pendant would still summon lightning thrice a day to blast his foes, it would only work out of doors and summoned a rain shower when invoked.

Osprey broke in on his reminiscences, "We shall have to send for more glassware."

        *               *               *               *

"Yes," Etienne called out approaching the door cautiously. Even though he had become quite comfortable here in the village there was still apprehension whenever a knock came upon his door.

He opened the door to the face of his friend and bade him welcome. "Come in, come in," he said warmly gesturing toward a bench, "I was just doing a bit of reading."

Osprey was clad as Etienne had never seen him before, in a fine leather jerkin and a fur trimmed cloak. "Reading?" he asked in some surprise.

"Somewhat," he replied putting away what looked like a map which he had spread upon his only table. "The area is vast, and there is much to learn about our lake and mountains," he stated. Osprey knew that Etienne spent much of his time in the mountains exploring and surveying the landscape, not so much looking for something but with an eye on not being seen. Sometimes a bird's eye view revealed much.

"You are a man of hidden talents, Etienne," said Osprey. "I would be interested in seeing your map, when you are done. For now, though ..." he sighed. "We need to send to Grenoble for glassware. There was an accident in the Twins' laboratory and all their equipment was destroyed. Would you be able to take Conrad and the cart and make the purchases for us? We could use some other supplies as well."

"Aye," he confirmed. Fishing had been unkind to him the last few days so a break from the lake would do him good. "I hope no one was hurt."

"The Twins were both injured fairly badly, but they will recover they tell us. It is fortunate that there are two of them, since they are the only ones with knowledge of medecine among us. It will take longer for them to get back on Terrus' good side, I think." Osprey shifted back to the original topic, "When can you leave? A list of what is needed from the glassblower has already been prepared. For the rest, between you and Conrad you should be able to remember what we need."

"We could leave tomorrow," Etienne answered. "I will meet Conrad in the usual place," he added. It would be a long day, for Etienne realized that he would have to meet the other fishermen before they went out to tell them of his whereabouts and see if they needed anything. Despite the nearly two years he had lived in the village Etienne still felt as if he needed to earn his spot there. Or was that it at all? Perhaps he felt beholden to the small community for how that had accepted him and helped him. He remembered shortly after Brother Antoine left that the cries came back to him, and many in the village came to check on him when he didn't turn out to the lake. There was concern on their faces then, and that was an unfamiliar look in the life that Etienne used to live.

"Tomorrow it is," said Osprey.

Conrad and Osprey were waiting by Conrad's father's farm with the cart when Etienne made his way down the path. "Good morning," said Osprey. "Here is the list and the money." He handed a wax tablet and a purse to Etienne. "There are some other things we shall need as well." Osprey recited a list of supplies that the Covenant would need. Conrad screwed up his face in concentration as he tried to memorize the list. Etienne knew that he would have to do most the work, since Conrad was not much smarter than the ox pulling the cart.

Etienne smiled at the youngster and patted him on the back reassuring him, "I will acquire the needed goods." He then climbed aboard the wagon, adjusting his cloak in doing so and showing the sword hanging on his hip. It was slightly unsettling to see the weapon hanging there, but Conrad understood the dangers that could befall them carrying the pouch of silver. He hoisted his staff into the wagon and they were off.

As usual, the first day's travel was to the village of Venosc, where the magi and their servants were tolerated but viewed with distrust. They passed the night, and then began the trek to Grenoble. Although less than twenty miles to Grenoble, the trip would take two days with the slow ox-cart.

So it was that three days after leaving Lauvitel, Conrad and Etienne arrived in Grenoble and entered the Inn at the sign of the Three Rivers, where they usually stayed. The Three Rivers was conveniently located near the merchants with whom they did the most business, and they were known there so the Inkeeper accepted the Lakehome coinage with no qualms.

Etienne greeted the innkeeper and secured a room for the night. Turning to Conrad Etienne spoke, "I will speak with the glassblower, hopefully he will have what we need so our stay here will not be lengthened." The dark fisherman tapped the wax tablet and took a step toward the door. "Do you wish to come with me, or stay here and rest?"

"Can I come with you?" asked the young man. "The barmaid keeps giving me funny looks." Indeed, the barmaid was positively mooning after the handsome grog.

Etienne chuckled for Conrad was indeed a young one. "Come along," he beckoned. Etienne winked at the barmaid as he followed Conrad out of the inn. Her disappointed sigh prompted Etienne to whisper to her in passing, "We will return tonight." This assurance increased her countenance like that of a hundred candles and even transferred joy to the stoic fisherman. The smile upon his face did not go unnoticed by Conrad.

"Just a memory of a long time ago," he responded to the young man's curious stare. Etienne could remember back to his early years when women and wine were abundant, yet one could never have told him the troubles that would follow such a lifestyle. Many of the men he called friends then were dead, or would be better off dead considering where they were now. His smile faded at the sobering thought, perhaps Conrad's inexperience was a blessing. It was something he would discuss with Brother Antoine when he returned.

The two men walked over to a trusted merchant they had dealt with in the past to inquire as to where they could find a glassblower and also to gather the other goods needed.

They made their purchases without incident, the glassblower able to provide about half of what they needed from his stock but telling them to return in a month for the rest. As they shopped, they shared a little gossip with the merchants. The Bishop of Grenoble was still seeking for the heretical Waldensians, and had captured one, a thin priest, who had been forced to recant his heresy, but who was still imprisoned - now in Lyon and at the mercy of the Bishop there.

Etienne was relieved at the priest being a thin man, but still it troubled him. He had hoped that the Bishop's hunting of priests would wane, but that was not to be the case. Lyon was much further west, besides what could he do? the days of breaking a man out of prison were in his past; and never did he think of rescuing a man from under the Bishop. All he could do was pray, and they he would do just as Brother Antoine had taught him. Regardless, he would discuss the matter with Osprey.

"This recanted heretic," he said to the merchant, "what will become of him? if he has come to his senses why is he still being held?"

"I think," laughed the man, "they fear he will recant his recantation."

Etienne laughed along with the man, "The Bishop is thorough indeed." He exchanged more pleasantries before moving on in the market, the worries about Antoine continued to weigh upon him as he walked on. Conrad was unfazed, enjoying the sights and sounds of the marketplace although he sensed something was bothering the former bandit.

"Oh, tis nothing," Etienne lied. He appeared to be distant, or lost in thought, but this was ended abruptly as he heard a whimsical tune rising above the market cacophony. Drawn to the sound, Etienne found a merchant playing a wooden instrument. Its sound was so pure and simple.

As he approached, the man stopped playing and smiled through crooked teeth gesturing at his assortment of crafted instruments. Etienne looked them over, a wooden recorder catching his eye. He did not want to appear too interested, and after a period of expected haggling he walked away with the music maker.

"I didn't know you played," said Conrad.

"I don't," Etienne replied matter-of-factly. "I intend to give this to the barmaid at the inn and tell her it is from you. I will say that you are like this," he held out the recorder. "Silent -- until in the hands of a beautiful, skilled artist whereupon you will sing more glorious than any bird in the heavens."

"No! Don't do that!" Conrad seemed almost panic stricken. "I mean, she's pretty and I don't know what to say ..."

Etienne laughed out loud at Conrad's animated reaction. "I would never dream of such a thing! I bought this for Xavier, so he could escape from his world of silence. That lovely maiden, you will have to capture on your own!" he added with a wink.

The next day they loaded the supplies they had purchased and began the trip home, with plans to to return a month later for the rest of the glassware.