Vignette- From our Fears

A double stone’s throw away from the palisade walls of a small enclave, there lies a forest. At the emergence it could be spoken of as an old growth temperate forest. They might speak of it’s shaded picturesque silvan glens, of the light smell of rotting vegetation and glowing mosses. Of its exotic collections of fungi that lent character to its towering trees. That was then. Before it took the lives of many a brave prospector. Before it became the warden of this small holding. A wall of looming shadows and infinite verdure guards that made mockery of their log walls and fragile defenders.

They called it darken forest, the forbidden forest, the forest of death.

So they thought.

So they believed.

So it became.

Chapter 42

“-so he said that it was his duty to accept the worship and offer his protection to any who ask.” Timothy finished his run down of the conversation, sitting on his hard little cushion before the increasingly elaborate scrying pool. What was once simple lines and simpler cartoonish symbols growing into alien shapes with artistically complex webs of meaning with each addon and new discovery.

A decent metaphor for life. He thought to himself as he waited for the lighting to strike. It started with caricaturistic stick figures and five pointed stars. Innocent but highly prized on mommy and daddies refrigerator. Then with time growing in complexity and beauty but somehow losing that innocence. Perhaps the Mona Lisa was really looking back in nostalgia for stick figures and gold stars.

Enough of the maudlin! Get your game face on.

“....SO YOU TALKED TO THAT-”

“Enough Daughter! This is a council not a schoolyard.” Ma’s had looks that could burn and this one was set to leave Jenney blistered.

She took a deep shaky breath and tried again “Why were you talking with that… person!”

That actually started pretty nicely for me. Now I look calm and reasonable by comparison. A bit too much so. Will need to go with the naive wise man angle of approach.

“Do you remember ma’s story about borrowing a cup of sugar?” He enjoyed the blank stares he received form his temporary audience for a moment before continuing. “It goes something like this. A woman is attempting to bake a cake for a birthday party when she realizes she is short a cup of sugar. She doesn’t really have time to run to the store so she makes up her mind to head next door and try to borrow a cup. As she puts on her coat and hat, switches to outdoor shoes and prepares to brave the elements she goes over what she will say in her head. She will knock on his door and say “May I borrow a cup of sugar?” The neighbor asks why does she need it? Why didn't she plan ahead. She apologizes but says it's very important. He agrees and asks if it's so important why didn’t she think about it before now. She apologizes again and repeats herself. And it snowballs in her head until she is so angry that when she actually knocks on her neighbors door she doesn’t even wait for him to speak before yelling in his face ‘Why does it matter why I forgot! All I wanted to do was borrow a blasted cup of sugar you jerk!’ and storms back to her home.”

He smiles sadly, seeing understanding in many eyes, if not agreement.

“Before we get all riled up and hell bent on vengeance it was worth a shot to just talk to the man and figure out what his intentions were. All it cost was a bit of my pride. And while it didn’t pay off this time I think it was still worth the attempt. We did learn a decent amount from it after all.”

“About that Timothy, what do you think you learned from it?” Arthur had his arms crossed, his body language closed off. Still he was waiting and listening before passing judgment.

“First would be the depth of his knowledge. It's based on the rumors and biased accounts from our own group of malcontents. That may change with time. He now has a foothold to listen from. But for now he really doesn’t understand what makes us tick.”

“That is a massive advantage. Without understanding he will have trouble predicting how we will respond. We need to keep it that way just as he needs to learn more about us. Whether he uses his new converts to actively spy or just to listen to the chatter in the baths. He might even go one farther and try to listen magically. It’s one reason why I asked to meet here and not in the gov tower. I have some anti-eavesdropping tricks going. We'll need to work on counters for the other loopholes.”

Timothy raised an eyebrow and glanced around the room. This was a key point and he wanted to be sure it got across. A smattering of nods met his eyes. Not from Jenney, who was not currently willing to listen. Nor from Ma, though she might have understood. She was just too busy staring a hole in his head for him to read anything else.

He quickly averted his eyes from that trap before continuing in a hurry “Second would probably be more obvious. He has a foot hold here now and he won't give it up. Call it megalomania if you will, but he wants the world. He is willing to share it, mind you, just so long as the sharee accepts their place beneath him.” He debated making a comment about that being literal with the attractive ladies, but things were dicey enough on that front already.

He patted himself on the back for not saying a poor joke, but still received the snorts and bitter laughter what he did say deserved.

“One last thing. If you accuse him of wrongdoing he doesn’t retaliate with anger, or at least not anger to the point of losing his temper. Instead he has answers, either prepared or off the cuff. His explanations make sense and maintain internal logic. To accuse him further is to degenerate the conversation into childish name calling. The neener neener level of a fight. He has facts and logic while you have but infantile emotions. I wonder if he wasn’t a lawyer or a politician in the Old. He can indeed spin to win.”

Arthur snorted at that “A common problem for you intellectuals. So busy worrying about arguments that you ignore the simple truths of what is right and wrong. You don’t need a doctorate to know not to rob a store and no matter how pretty an argument, rape is still rape. Or are you going to tell me that it's not cheating if it’s in a different state? Stop worrying about his arguments and focus on his actions. Do that and your goals become obvious. Not the path to get there, that can be a complex bit of trouble, but at least you know the direction. They call it a moral compass for a reason, you have it or you don’t.”

Simple and to the point. Seductively so. It would be so much easier to believe that… but a moral compass and doing what feels right has led to an awful lot of bigotry and wrong doing. How do you split the difference? To avoid the legalistic bull shit of silver tongued lawyers without falling into the simplistic unthinking certainty of the self righteous?

The conversation continued while he pondered the question. In some ways laws were the province of cowards. Setting up a rigid structure that can be blamed for the punishments a leader must give out. It’s the fault of the laws, not my fault that you are going to prison. Ignoring the simple obvious fact that no set of laws will be fair in every situation, and the silver tongued will game any system that was set down. The only defenses that worked long term were the ones that stayed unknown.

Then again, to lead without rules was to invite the ego to lead into tyranny. ‘It’s right because I said so!’ can be such a tempting thing. Without lines in the sand it's hard to notice when a personality starts to drift from the straight and narrow.

Perhaps the proper path would be to have rules but never share them with others? Then does that leave the common people in constant fear of making a mistake, unsure of where and what the lines might actually be…

He flinched back as Regi smacked his shoulder dragging him back into the debate.

“-are we going to do it? We agreed something must be done but every idea anyone supplies gets shut down!” Jenny schrilled.

“We hit a brick wall Sis, instead of breaking our heads on it let's try something different. All of our old world solutions say suppressing a religion will backfire. Likewise, doing anything about it physically will violate our laws and morals. But common sense says that leaving this-” Regi paused searching for a word “-infection untreated will blow up in our faces. He is promising people exactly what they want but shouldn’t have. No work, live in your memories of happier days, let him take care of everything. Like offering a child candy, it’s going to work.”

He paused waiting on any disagreements and found none. “So let's change our approach. Old world knowledge has left us in the crook of a stick. What about a new world approach? Can magic fix this problem?”

All eyes turned to Timothy who, caught mid drink, spluttered behind a mouthful of water. After coughing a few times he had to ask “I hate to take the bleeding heart angle, Regi, but you’re scaring me. How do you want me to ‘fix’ the problem? I do have morals you know, and some common sense. Morals would stop me from magically killing them and common sense would stop me from screwing with their minds. It would make me no better than Bensen and our own people would turn on me.”

“Agreed, agreed. Then what?” He gestured for Timothy to continue.

“Then they pull out pitchforks and torches. What do you mean then what?”

“No, not after the first two bad ideas. I am asking you then what else. Are death or mind control the only options? I hope not! If we can’t stop them from praying, can we stop him from hearing them? Can we make it uncomfortable to pray? Can we incentivize them not to?”

Timothy’s eyes lit up. There we go, the third options. “Nice Regi, when offered two bad options: either quit playing or learn to cheat! I love it! Block the prayers if I can, make his dream sendings more expensive if I can’t and make the return payments of belief less profitable. Make it start costing him far more than he gets until he pulls back on them. Maybe throw in some feedback or static on the call… ya this could work!”

He smiled a cheshire grin, and saw it reflected back to him five fold. The only exception was a glaring Ma.

“A great start boys,” She relented and spoke “but also a long term disaster if you don’t stop and think now. I am both enraged and proud of you Timothy. You managed to listen to my entire lecture on not going it alone, then went and talked to Bensen without us. Were you even listening?” She gave him a glare that promised retribution in the near future.

Shit..

She continued, her glare turning into a sad smile “But I am proud of you. You tried to talk to Bensen like an adult and work out our problems with words first. We are growing magic solutions to everything these days. From healing to religion. Don’t let that make you forget the simple solution of talking to people. Magic, like violence may be an effective tool. Please don’t let either be the default solution to all of your problems!”

It’s never quite that simple of course. But having a goal makes a world of difference. Before they were drowning in the English Channel, now they at least knew the way to the shore. That and the last seven plus years had made him a hell of a swimmer.

No need to reinvent the wheel on this one. He had a rune for interference. Take that concept and tune it. It will still need to be a new rune but most of the conceptualizing work could be borrowed. Just adjust it to aim more for the threads of belief instead of the magic field and add a socket for a specific rune. Then get specific on Bensen.

Just.

That was not a complaint. It was more in line with rejoicing! This sort of thing was what he lived for. Forcing a new concept into reality also forced him to confront the natural world. To prove to both it and him that he understood the forces he was acting on, at least to a degree, and he was walking the correct path. The more complex his attempts became the more feedback he received.

It made him think back to some stories he enjoyed in the old world. Maybe he needed to shout ‘BELIEF BLOCKING RUNE!’ as he carved it! All jokes aside, it was an interesting sideways epiphany. It may not be in a fight to the death with arrogant young masters and a protagonist who eats every treasure in existence, but challenge is required for growth. To constantly challenge the boundaries of the known in search of universal truths.

If there were any.

Then again, even if they didn’t exist, the process of searching provided rewards uncountable.

Back to the new runes, even with leveraging some existing ones it would not be an overnight fix. It might take weeks to fully actualize the concept and test it for viability. In the meantime the rest of the council would be on damage control. Quietly freeze the cultists out of the true information loop. Nothing overt, nothing that they could call persecution. Also unfortunately nothing that could be maintained for any great length of time. Just a bit of misdirection combined with as much disinformation as they could manage.

Fake rumors in the bath house from guardians and hard working norms who were more than willing to assist when told the full story. Great big hilarious lies began to fly around with abandon. Like Timothy was a pacifist and also a bloodthirsty murderer. That the council was almost ready for a civil war and was tight as only family can be. Chaff, such that any real information Bensen acquired would be lost in the buzz.

Garrett was in high heaven taking charge of that particular assignment. It seemed to tickle the practical joker deep inside him. Each day he came out with ever more outrageous lies. To the extent that he organized a contest out of it. One with some very nice prizes! Ma reluctantly agreed to be the final judge. The rules of the contest were very straight forward. Whoever could make Ma laugh the best would win. With points given based on volume and length.

Let the Tournament Begin!

“...Arthur is not really a person. He is a slab of granite Timothy enchanted to make men into soldiers!”

Timothy let out a small chuckle at the latest attempt. He was sitting back casually on the first floor of his tower overlooking the central gardens where a temporary stage had been set up, elevated well above the usual greenery. A bit of work had created a host of windows on the interior of the surrounding bunkers along with a horde of chairs in the gardens outer pathways. Timothy sat inside the eastern bunker opposite one of those windows. Being over a story above the garden floor he had a great view of the proceedings. Even the music was very audible as it emanated from where Garett sat on the side of the stage. He was idly picking out a casual bit of background music and acting as a magic loudspeaker system while he was at it.

“Really Timothy? You laugh at that one? It was terrible.” Jenney, kicking back comfortably in a vine recliner beside him, sipped at her glass for a moment before continuing the conversation stalled by his chuckle. “Still, I am surprised you could take time out of your oh so busy schedule to attend.”

“It’s a great way to unwind. A bit of levity goes a long way in releasing stress. I imagine productivity will shoot up after this. That applies to me as well. We all need the occasional break.”

“Oh, then why not go full hog and make up a few good lies of your own?”

“It’s not really an option for me, Jenney. Far from doing me good, it might actually cause considerable harm.”

She glanced away from the spectacle to fix him with an incredulous look. “Harm? You are going to have to explain that one brother dear.”

“It's not something I can fully articulate. Somewhere on the crossroads of where belief creates reality and people trust their wizard there lies personal integrity. I don’t mind being thought of as a bit silly, but I can’t afford to be considered a flagrant liar. The longer I live the more important that reputation for honesty might be. Have you ever thought of the results of Longevity, Jenney? You certainly have the magic to insure you survive to a ripe old age.” As someone who knew a way to make it work, he had to be very careful not to violate the moratorium on discussing immortality. A group who didn’t know could discuss it all they wanted. Right up until one of them figured it out. Then he would get a visitation and a warning. Still, he could ask a few questions that skirted the issue.

Looking back at the next contestant climbing up onto the stage, she paused for a moment. “I guess I do, I haven't really thought about it. Just surviving seems more important at the moment.”

“You’re not wrong. Longevity doesn’t mean much if we get killed in the near future. Still, what if we don’t? Plans must be made for the long term even when the immediate future is in jeopardy. If I’m going to be here anywhere near as long as I expect,” Something he knew damn well he would be, just so long as he didn't get the Cesar treatment, “then I need to act like it. Ever think about the long term politicians when facebook and the like started being more common? You could go back through thirty years of public speeches, private comments and news reports looking for contradictions. More than looking, it was almost guaranteed you would find them. Now make that time sixty or seventy years instead of thirty. Gonna get ugly isn’t it?”

“We don’t have facebook, Timothy. Nor twitter or any of the others. So how does that still apply?”

They both paused for a second as contestant #39, marked as such by the wooden sign in his right hand, began his speal. “The first magic Timothy created was to enlarge the size of his cock!”

Ma, previously sitting in a comfy chair opposite Garrett snapped closed the wood and cloth fan to lunge from her chair and give the man a sturdy Wack across the shoulders. “That's my son you ninny! Do you think I am going to laugh about such a dirty thing?” Wack! Wack! she smacked him again and again as he quickly lunged for the ladder and climbed down to considerably more laughter than his initial attempt had garnered.

“Haaa, where did that come from?” Jenney sighed in exasperation.

Chuckling at the sight of the man running from his petite mother timothy replied. “Well, he is not entirely wrong after all.” Timothy said, snickering as he pulled out his semi original carving tool from its sheath on his belt.

“...You enlarged your manhood?” The look she was giving him was both doubtful, disgusted and somewhat contemptuous. It was really a unique expression and it deserved a painting. Alas that was not a skill that Timothy had. He was not half bad at free hand sketching these days. He would consider it...

He handed her the tool and helpfully pointed to the inscription. “Not quite, sister dear. Not quite.”

“The-pen-is-mightier…. “ She stared at it for a moment before letting out a bray of laughter. “SNL Celebrity Jeopardy right? I’ve not thought about those episodes in years.” She screwed up her face and gave an absolutely wretched Sean Connery voice “What I want to know is does it work?” She couldn’t maintain a straight face and dissolved into giggles a moment later.

“The best kind of lies have some relationship with the truth after all, if only a nodding one. Unfortunately you have to consider the judge. I doubt many mothers are going to tolerate jokes about their son's junk. Especially not religious mothers.”

She giggled a bit more, a truly jarring sound from her 6+ foot muscular frame. Did big people chortle while small ones were allowed to giggle? He didn’t have time to follow that rabbit hole before Jenney dragged the conversation back on track. “So without social media what does longevity have to do with anything?”

Shaking the previous conversation aside he responded after a short delay. “No social media, but a much smaller circle of acquaintances. All, or at least most, being literate. Journals and notes of the before times are already cropping up. Attempts to make sure that we don’t forget everything, no matter what our alien overlords intended. Everything from Shakespeare to The Lord of the Rings, with some Heinlein thrown in - from memory. Movies or favorite nursery rhymes. People are attempting to write down whatever they can in their spare time. I am not sure if it's for their eventual children or for themselves. It doesn’t matter either way. There are going to be plenty of records from our present in the future.”

“Eventual? Have you not noticed how many pregnant ladies are waddling about?” Her voice became somewhat grouchy at that.

Timothy was wise enough not to poke that bear. He may have provided an option for contraceptives… but as awkward as it was to use it was by no means effective in reducing the total number. Even condoms were frequently ignored back in the day and that was much more convenient then the current setup. Then again, he thought darkly, with how many people were dying in defense of the hold it might be a good thing the rates were so high.”

He shook off the dark thoughts and responded. “I hadn’t been paying much attention, but I could hardly miss them in the baths this last month or so.”

Speaking of pregnant women, the next contestant looked to be about eight months along. Her extended stomach dragging at her but not interfering with her mood. She sported a massive smile and a vibrant glow. She carefully waddled onto a slab of essence stone and was lofted onto the stage by a guardian with a motion wand.

“Perhaps even more important is the longevity of others. I could be wrong, of course,” from what he managed to drag out of Akil he very much doubted that he was, “but I don’t imagine there will be that many people who will hit the average life expectancies, much less push those limits. If you do manage to keep yourself, and the rest of us healthy into our 90’s we would probably already be a major minority.”

He paused again as the pregnant contestant #40 began her pitch. “Timothy’s first weapon was a magic spatula that he used to flip over and grill bacon on the hoof!”

Jenney gave him a sidelong glance as nearly every guardian broke out in snickers. She tried for a moment but quickly gave in and joined them in their mirth.

He just sighed. The Best lies contain truth.

“You are never going to live that down brother, I hope you know that. Then again, that makes more sense to me than anything about journals or facebook. You are a public figure now, what you do might be handed down in stories and legends. Still, it's going to get pretty confining if you worry about what people think of you all the time.”

“You’re wrong and not wrong at the same time. It’s not the common opinion of me that I am worried about. It’s more about deals. I need people that I deal with to know my word is good. For your common group of people a portion will get caught in a lie or twenty and no one will trust them. But life goes on and eventually they will either outlive that reputation or die and leave it behind. If you plan to live a very long time in a position of power that isn’t an option. You have to be careful, and yes that could be a bit of a straight jacket.”

She thought about that as contestant 40 was carefully lowered from the platform. “Ok, I sort of get it, though I think you are overdramatizing. I doubt participating in what's going on below will really threaten your credibility.”

They sat in companionable silence, broken by no few bouts of laughter, as new contestants took that turn on the stage.

Finally Jenney turned and asked a question “Why did you tell me this Timothy. You don’t usually let this much out at once.”

He smiled widely, Gotcha! “Don’t I?”

Her eyes squinted as she stared at him. “No. You don’t. Not unless you are trying to make a point.”

“And what point would I be making here, sister dear?” He asked in as innocent a voice as he could manage.

The squint became a glare. “That I have been focusing too much on the short term, perhaps? That I need to start planning for the future beyond just the most recent crisis.”

He smiled widely at her, blessing his father for an important bit of bargaining wisdom. When you win, immediately stop talking. All you can do past that is convince them to change their minds.

She gave him a final glare and turned back to the farce on the stage. Ma was once again wacking an older man, paunchy and partially bald, the grey half circle of hair that left his crown bare looked almost like a monk's tonsure, about the head and shoulders with her fan for getting a bit too obscene in his lies. He took it like a good sport though, hamming it up in front of the laughing audience while he comically jumped from the platform only to be caught by a motion ward from some co-conspirators.

Timothy took a larger gulp of Berryaid, enjoying the treat and even more the sense of community that this event had evoked.

Even in the bad times, with a human threat to the north and surrounded by a vicious world, there was still so much of life to enjoy.