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libraryofcirclaria · 2 months ago

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17 November 1321

Library of Circlaria

Third Level Society: First Version

Story Eleven: Peter Quora and Sophia Qalmers

Part Two: Sophia Qalmers

The naysayers were right about the dangers of what we did last week, in terms of finding Peter Quora. And, as Peter Quora said in one of his last journal entries, I am grateful to be alive.

Ultimately, it had been decided that Rose Anne Mahathy and Susan Parans would accompany me on the trip. Marius told us that Peter was arranging to meet us by an old freight mesh train railroad crossing just Northwest of the town of Norriston, Combria. Jeo Brock arranged our traveling bags, putting our talismans in hidden pockets in the interior of each bag.

And Cray Fenton pulled me aside to print a secret oathcrafting script on my right wrist, instructing me to tell no one else about this and to use it if anything goes wrong. Oathcrafting is illegal under Congress of Circlaria, but it seemed that the newly independent Combrian Confederation was focused more on the use of darkfire, so I would not be found out on this so long as I kept discreet. Cray furthermore instructed me to remember that my emotional input is what would trigger the script.

So we set out on November 12. We went by car through the North Bank border crossing and into the Confederation. We showed our papers and were waved through the border without incident. No one there even searched our bags. On the other side of North Bank, we met with Marius who took us into his car and set out to our intended destination. The drive was a few hours; and the weather was cold and snowy. So I was very much relieved when I saw the signs for Norriston; it was nightfall by the time we got there.

I felt that something was not quite right when I got out of the car. And this feeling was compounded by the fact that Marius was unable to stay with us due to "pressing matters." So it was Rose Anne, Susan, and I by ourselves on the Northwest end of town in the dark with the mesh train rail crossing over us, its ominous tube frame towering about 60 to 70 feet high.

It was dark. It was quiet. The snow was falling, though not heavily. The only problem was that there was no sign of Peter. We were told that Peter would show up and show us toward his meeting place..."in a warm location discreet and out of sight of the main road," Marius had told us. But I turned around; and the only thing I could see was what looked like a lone mesh train service car sitting on the rail just to the North of the road.

"Dam People!!" Susan screamed. Before I could pull my talisman out, she stopped me, saying "No don't! Just run!"

Spellfire discharges flew at us from all directions.

I bolted for the town lights marking Norriston, looking for a path so as to keep off the sides of the highway. Rose Anne was running behind me but was falling further behind. I turned to look for her and see if there was anything I could do to help but suddenly a man leapt in front of me pointing a gun and ordering me to the ground.

I did as he was told and saw that other men had detained Rose Anne as well. Upon closer look, I saw that there were five men, all shaved bald and wearing what appeared to be gray police uniforms, though I could not tell in the dark of night. What I did see though was their emblem on their shoulders, what appeared to be a halfway rolled-out scroll with a cross in the middle of it. I had never seen such a symbol before and did not know who these people were.

I would learn soon enough, though.

Two men had me by the shoulders and were roughly pushing me in the direction of the mesh train service car. I saw that its side door opened up a ramp sloping down to the ground. There were also two men shuffling Rose Anne along while the fifth man was further along headed up the ramp.

"Where is your friend?" one of the men holding me asked me through gritted teeth.

"I don't know," I told him as I realized that Susan was nowhere to be found.

"You better know soon," the other man threatened. "Things will end badly for her if she isn't found."

"Who are you and why do you say that?" I demanded.

The first guy kicked my leg in response and gritted out "Stop resisting!"

"I'm not-"

"Just walk with us!"

Rose Anne and I were both walked up the ramp and into the cabin section of the service car. Inside was a man of apparently higher rank, wearing a darker uniform with the same symbol but also with a golden sash down the front left-to-right. This man was also wearing a medallion bearing the Cross of Stellacrux, the symbol of the Alconist religion. And while the men having detained us appeared to be in their late teens, the guy with the sash had a full head of hair and appeared to be in his early thirties. "Easy! Easy with them!" he admonished the ones holding us. "They're not criminals. Escort them to their rooms and we'll deal with them in a timely manner."

I was placed behind a locked door in a tiny room with a tiny bed, toilet, and no window. And I suspected that Rose Anne was subject to the same. And then the older man entered.

"Please forgive my ruffians for their crude behavior if they failed to be gentle with you. They are young men and do get a little over-excited sometimes," he assured me. "I am a good guy. We are good people. And we mean you no harm. We just found you trespassing on our rail line and of course need to clarify some information before letting you go.

"If I may introduce myself," the man continued. "I am David Terin. I am the Head Officer of the Norriston Chapter of an organization known as the Democratic Society of the Workers of the G. Arthurs Dam, also known colloquially as the 'Dam People.' Our job is to ensure the freedom and safety of those driving our roads and riding our trains, especially during these turbulent times."

It was at that moment that I realized the significance of what Susan Parans screamed right as we were attacked. I still did not know how much peril I was in yet, but even then I began getting a pit in my stomach.

It appeared that David Terin read my mind. "You have nothing to fear. Again, we do not intend to cause you harm, despite what you may have heard from any propaganda. We just want to ensure that you are not someone intent on causing harm to us or those we protect."

"I felt that we were hardly a threat to anyone here. We were just simply traveling to meet with a family friend," I said.

"Understood," Terin said. "But we have a duty to carry out, to ensure that what you say is correct. So if you don't mind, I just need to ask a few clarification questions."

"Clarification questions..."

"They're not as bad as they sound," Terin assured me. "Here. Let's start with the first one: 'What is your name?'"

"Maria Calmo," I lied. That was the name on the paperwork created by Marius. And he told us to stick with these identities despite any circumstance.

"Maria Calmo," the Head Officer repeated. Then he paused for a long enough time that I worried for a moment that he would not buy it. "Alright. Very well," he said to my relief. "Next question: 'Where are you from?'"

"I was born in North Bank," I said. "I just started college at Cabotton University after retiring from my job. That was before Combria was independent. I was stuck on the other side when it happened, so it took forever to get the paperwork straightened out, if you know what I mean. I've missed a lot since last I was here."

"Interesting that was an issue," Terin responded. "Should have been easy for you if you were born here...then again, there's a first for everything....Congratulations on your enrollment at Cabotton, by the way. I hear that is a place of honor despite the controversies....next question, and these are formalities really: 'Why are you here?'"

"To see my family of course."

"Yes of course....up this way, though? I thought you said you were from North Bank."

"We were. But my family has since moved. We live over the border in Gymia now, in the city of Tame. I know the paperwork doesn't reflect it just yet."

"Understood, understood," David Terin responded, waving off my response. "What about your friend, though? The one that ran off?"

"Susan-" I blurted out before I realized that Susan Parans was to adopt the name Davia Kornell.

"Susan....."

"Kornell," I answered.

"Why did it take so long for you to remember the last name?" David asked, looking at me.

"New student I was mentoring."

"At Cabotton? I thought you told me you just started."

"No. I started two years ago, before the independence movement."

"Ah yes, of course, what you said earlier. I see I noted that now. My apologies."

"And she was coming with me up to Tame," I continued to lie, now improvising. "We have a spellcaster practicing venue, privately held, conducted as a business in our garage. We are both studying in that line of work, and she wanted to job-shadow up there."

"I see, and I'm sure you had to go to nightmarish lengths to get licensure from Congress of Circlaria to host the business venue."

"We managed."

"My concern, however, is why she ran off when we showed up," David looked back up at me. "Do you happen to know?"

"Simple. She wasn't expecting you."

"But she did not think to just follow instructions like you?"

"I will admit that I would not have brought her along if I had known how she was going to act," I said, with partial honesty. "Again, she is fairly new in my life. I thought that she would have a bit more common sense."

"Indeed," David said. "I'm just simply concerned for her safety. I will put word out to the other units to look for her...In the meantime, you and the other detainee will remain here till I get clearance for your release."

They had taken my bag but I had a wristwatch. So though I had no window, I was able to tell time, and knew that, excluding the arrival of my meals, that about 36 hours had passed between the time David Terin walked out and the time he walked into my cell again, this time with the two henchmen who had dragged me to this place. That, of course, was after I had awoken to the sound of Rose Anne from her room down the hall, sounding as if she had gotten into some sort of physical altercation.

David Terin sighed and paused. Then he began. "Your friend, Marius Feili, is currently in the custody of my colleague in North Bank..."

"What is happening to Sarah?" I demanded.

"'Rose Anne'," David said sweetly. "We know it's 'Rose Anne.' And she has engaged in self-harm this morning."

"What do you mean-"

"We will address that later," David said. "Anyway, Marius is in custody of my colleague in North Bank, and has been for quite some time. And this is what we know...Your real name is Sophia Qalmers. You are from North Kempton. The name of your friend who ran away is Susan Parans, who is actually the Dungeonmaster of the Third Level Society. You are here to seek Peter Quora, who you have worked with. And you passed through the North Bank using fabricated paperwork generated by Marius, who disclosed all of this to me upon questioning and whose truth was confirmed by your friend: Rose Anne."

David briefly gazed at his two henchmen. "Again, we mean to cause you no harm," he continued. "Unfortunately, God has laid it upon our hearts to carry out his wrath upon you as punishment for your dishonesty."

Suddenly, the first henchman picked me up off my feet while the second one punched me once in the gut and three times in the face. Then I was dropped to the floor and kicked several times.

As I lay there bleeding, Head Officer David knelt down to me and said with a sad a desperate voice,"We mean you no harm. You are indulging in self-harm right now. You have chosen this path, knowing the consequences to be passed down to you. We did not choose this path of pain for you. This was entirely your decision. You don't have to do this to yourself, though. Please Sophia. I want to help you."

"Okay, okay!" I said desperately.

David took my hand and stood me up again. "Now," he continued. "You have a chance to redeem yourself. We know, now, that you were being dishonest during our first conversation. However, you have an opportunity to do two things: first, admit that you lied to me before; second, tell me with all honesty why you lied. If you oblige to do so, we the Dam People will do you no harm. You will have a chance to be set free and begin with a clean slate. If you refuse, though, or you lie again, I will have no control over what happens to you because your fate will be in God's hands, subject to God's judgement, judgement you have learned moments ago.

"I am the Head Officer of this Norriston chapter," David continued. "And normally, we have a Minister who intercedes on behalf of God in judgement for those suspected of such things as treason and espionage. Said Minister is out on sick leave, and so temporarily, as you may have figured out by now, I am adopting the role of Minister along with the role of Head Officer.

"With that being said," he added. "If you refuse to cooperate at this moment, and God judges you guilty and commands the summary execution of you, Rose Anne, and even Susan whenever she is found, I will have no other choice than to obey His commands." David returned his gaze to me, "Now is your chance to save yourself. Again, we mean to cause no harm."

I was still in shock, so it took me a few moments to come up with the words. But when I did, I was sure it was convincing. "I was fearful...I knew that it would incur suspicion my intent on seeing Peter Quora, but it was not for the reason you think. I was, however, afraid that you would not understand me. So that's why I lied to hide my association with Peter."

David put his hand on my shoulder and looked down for a few moments. Then he looked back up at me. "I think I might understand you. Could you elaborate though, for the sake of your two friends?...In fact, let's start with the same questions as before...what we discussed night before last...'What is your name?'"

"Sophia Qalmers," I heard myself say with a dead voice.

"Where are you from?"

"North Kempton."

"Why are you here?"

"To seek Peter Quora."

"And why do you seek Peter Quora?" David had a half grin when he said this.

To that, I had to think a moment of what to say.

"Careful," David said quietly. "Dishonesty now will end badly for you. God is watching. And He will judge."

"Then he will judge me innocent," I said firmly. "For I telling the truth. I was, in the past, an ally of Peter and his agenda. But over the two years that followed, I have grown to realize the treachery he had of his worldbuilding. It is witchcraft as they say. And I had faith in Peter even then. I knew his potential to right his wrongs. I came to seek him to bring him to the Light..."

"I see now," David said with a grin. "You did not have to hide that, you know. That is indeed a pious thing you intend to do...What of your other friends though? Other than Susan and Rose Anne? I know there are others."

"The ones in North Kempton, and the ones in Cabotton. I was wrong to follow them. I convinced them to help me to travel out here to find Peter. But what they did not know was that I was trying to convince Peter, himself, of his wrongs. The Peter Quora Chapters are already weakened from what happened two years ago, but I sought to debase what remained."

Of course, what I had told him there was a lie. In no way would I have even turned on Peter Quora like that. But nonetheless, it seemed that David Terin was swayed.

"You and Rose Anne will remain here for another day or two while I speak with God on these matters," David said. "If all rings true, then you shall have your freedom."

I awoke again to the sounds of Rose Anne in the other room getting beat. I looked and saw that another 36 hours had passed. It was late on the evening of November 15. I began to fear a repetition of the events of the previous morning before last.

For some reason, then and there, I thought back to Cray Fenton and his decision to print in invisible ink on my right wrist that oathcrafting script. I touched my hand on and felt for the node to cast it. And cast it I did then and there.

At first, it seemed to have no effect. I did not understand at time, because I had no training or experience; Cray even insisted that training was not really necessary for this particular script print. Just then, David Terin and his two henchmen entered my cell.

"Everything you told me last time seems to ring true," he said. "I've confirmed it with both Marius and Rose Anne...There's just one more thing I have to ask however. And that is that since you have been so close to Peter as you say, I presume you know about his possession of the letter?"

"I'm sorry," I said. "I'm not sure I quite follow."

The taller of the two henchmen took a step toward me threateningly, causing me to flinch. David held up a hand, though, to stay him. David continued. "I presume my vagueness led you to say that, so I do apologize. Let me explain: In the year 1086, there lived a man named Rickard Alexander Stevenson, who wrote a very important letter to a very important group of people, or so presumed by certain organizations who question the ultimate presence and authority of God the Father of Alconus Braeus, Creator of All. In any case, the letter was almost burned, but was taken just in time by an unknown member of a so-named Pageturner Guild, who kept the letter in a safe spot in the town of Northmoor. There it remained without having seen daylight until around the same time your friend, Peter, was having his little party with his witchcrafting friends. And it was right around that time that the letter suddenly went missing."

I might have shown a flash of fury on my face at David's mention of the word "witchcrafting." But he appeared not to notice, for he continued. "Now we certainly do not agree entirely with the beliefs of either the Pageturner or Pagewriter Guilds; we consider them pagan in nature. But nonetheless we view the Pagewriter Guild, friends of the Third Level Society and Peter's friends, as the greater of two evils. And so we have been sharing concern with the Pageturner Guild that it may have been a Pagewriter or one of their allies having taken possession of the letter, which we fear may allow them to wield greater power in, say, oathcrafting, as some letters have been known to contain...So now that I've clarified, Sophia, I have to ask you this," David finished, taking a step closer to me. "What do you know of the said letter?"

"I'm so sorry," I said, trying to sound desperate. "If I had known, I would have told you. If Peter knew, he never let me in on it. There were a lot of things he kept secret from me." That last part I actually said truthfully, remembering his secret conversations with Colin.

After a moment of thought, David said, "Alright. Come with us." And with that, the two henchmen took me by the arms and walked my out into the little hall, where I saw Rose Anne again, and then walked the both of us to the door at the end to the outside.

I did not know what was going on, but I had a bad feeling, not helped in the least by seeing Rose Anne showing signs of significant physical beating. I thought back to Cray's oathcrafting print on my wrist and wandered whether or not it was defective. Cray, after all, though sharp and wise, has begun to show signs of "wearing out" from old age.

The ramp was not extended from the doorway to the ground like it was when we were brought in. And it was about a 50-foot drop to the ground. The henchmen holding myself and the ones holding Rose Anne, four altogether, forced us to stand right at the edge so that the fronts of our shoes were sticking off the edge. David Terin emerged between us and began speaking again.

"So the both of you insist that you know nothing about the said letter, and the both of you gave seemingly plausible explanations. So I am therefore led to believe that the both of you have been telling the truth thus far. The question, though, is whether or not you are telling the whole truth. I feel that perhaps you know that Peter Quora and others not here and now may know about the letter but you are not willing to share that with us, which of course makes me question the both of you once again.

"So herein lies another opportunity for redemption," David continued. "If there is a conspiracy involving the letter, one of which you are aware but have yet to tell me, you may confess to me what you have been hiding. If you do so and come out honest, you will be spared God's justice. Those you name will be condemned and punished accordingly, and we will find them, but at least the both of you, as well as your friend, Susan Parans, stand a chance to be spared, and even set free...However, as I have told the both of you before, I am acting Minister of my Chapter while my colleague is on leave. I am interceding on behalf of God, and am communicating directly with Him with the other half of my mind as I speak. Either one of you may speak your request for redemption, but if God tells me that even now you are lying..." and with that, David pulled out a pistol and pointed it at my head. "...God may command your execution, a duty I will fulfill in obedience. Again, we mean to cause you no harm. But we also do not wish for either you or Rose to indulge in self-harm by choosing to commit treason and espionage to incur God's Wrath. The choice is yours."

As David spoke I could hear Rose Anne whimpering in slight panic; and I saw that one of the henchmen had a gun pointed at her as well.

"I swear I know nothing about the letter," I said. "You know more about it than I do. I have no idea who Richard Stevenson-"

David fired a shot.

Rose Anne and I screamed as the bullet missed my nose by about an inch.

"SPEAK THE TRUTH!" David screamed. "YOU REALLY THINK THIS GUN IS JUST A PROP!?"

"Dammit Cray!" I said aloud. I did not mean to say it aloud. Regardless, I thought those would be my last words.

But then I remembered what Cray said about the emotional trigger.

"I was in love with him," I said, sobbing. "I know nothing about the letter. I swear, he kept it completely secret from me. All I know was that I loved Peter, and he loved me. It was a feeling I had for him since I first met him all those years ago. We started getting close right before I disappeared. We met in North Kempton that October and...we were in the same bedroom and..."

I could not get anymore words out for the moment. I looked and saw that not only did my oathcrafting appear to soften David and the henchmen a little, Rose Anne was giving me quite the look of surprise as well. I knew that I would have a lot of explaining to do later.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I actually didn't know much, take interest much, in Peter's worldbuilding. I just wanted to be with him. That's I came out here. Marius said he was here...I've just been missing him for the last two years, you know? Please. I no nothing about any letter."

The look on David's face appeared to be one of awkward regret. He gently dropped the gun on the floor of the train cabin and gave a look to the henchmen, who walked us back into the hallway. "Start the train," David said to one of them. He turned back to me. "I do apologize for the misunderstandings. I can tell that you spoke true. God assures me. And as our duty, we judge you innocent of any of the crimes of which we accused you. We just need to go to a place closer to the border so we can release you. It will be an easy walk back the Commonwealth and to the nearest place of hospitality if that is what you choose."

"Thank you," I said.

The train car arrived at what looked like a very remote place. It was deep dusk when we started moving, and now it was nightfall. The outside was almost pitch black, though the stars started peaking out. David gave us our bags as the ramp lowered onto the ground below.

"Per duty of law, I have to order you to never set foot in the Confederation again," David said, then point ahead of us. "Just take that path. It leads straight South. There's a gap in the border wall; so you won't have to worry about customs."

The henchmen walked us down the ramp, and gave us a light shove to get us to step on the ground. They, themselves, proceeded up the ramp and closed it up. The mesh train sped off down the rail back the way it came and out of sight, leaving us in the dark.

I looked around and saw that it was a heavily wooded area save for the path as well as the clearing around the mesh rail. Rose Anne started down the path as we were told.

Rose Anne and I walked the path in total silence. I would have been fumbling around for an explanation on what I said earlier about Peter Quora, or talking about the apparent letter. But something did not seem right. Sure it seemed that my oathcrafting script had an influence on our captors, but it still seemed too easy. Also, the path began to curve to the West despite the Dam People having told us the path would be straight.

Suddenly, about a quarter mile away, was the sound of a single gunshot.

"Talismans! Quick!", I said as we quickly opened our bags and found them in their hidden pockets, to my relief. Rose Anne and I looked at each other and decided to walk a little more quickly down the path.

Then came another sound, this time from two places on either side of us about 300 feet away, of a machine whir accompanied by the sound of a metal door cranking open.

"They fed us right to the damn wysps!", Rose said. "RUN!" I was about to continue down the path but then Rose Anne pulled me off to the left. "NO! TO THE SOUTH!"

Sure enough, I saw the unmistakable luminous light of a point wysp. I remember feeling my stomach drop. Our run took us up a steep wooded hill. Even with the leaves gone for the winter, the undergrowth of the brambles only made things worse.

We came to a creek that we could not cross, I bolted to the right with the hope that I would find a crossing. Rose Anne was behind me. I felt a point wysp get between me and her. We both cast spell discharges which scared off the wysp for the time being. Just in that moment, I saw a fallen log safe to cross, I pulled Rose in that direction.

Then out of the dark came a rock wall. I tried to run one way, Rose Anne the other. But we were driven back. There were five wysps and they had us surrounded.

Suddenly, a masked figure in all black landed just outside the wysp ring and cast a complicated discharge, releasing a burst that though did not harm us was enough to be seen miles away and send the wysps flying in all directions. "COME WITH ME!" he said with a man's voice. He took both our hands, and we ran up a steep hill just beside the rock wall. At the top was a road at the side of which was a parked car. "GET IN!" he said, throwing us in the back seat. The man then jumped into the driver seat and took off his mask.

It was Colin Madrey.

So it turned out, the location the Dam People took us to was wysp-feeding grounds. Marius was aware that this would happen even before we crossed the border; and Colin had been spying on him, looking for his opportunity to rescue us.

Even since before Peter's disappearance, Marius had been paid by the Combrian nationalists to lure us in, so that they would extract important information before ridding us. Colin posed himself as a helper to Marius until he arrived at the wysp grounds where they watched us from a distance being dropped off at the path. It was at that point when Marius pulled out a gun and said something along the lines of, "I bet you and I can get them before the wysps do." He gave Colin a gun too, but instead of shooting us, Colin turned his gun on Marius.

Thus was the gunshot we heard.

As for himself and Peter Quora, it came to be that on the evening of November 2, 1319, during the confrontation in front of Marius' house, Colin realized then and there that Marius had set everyone up for an ambush. He told Peter to conceal himself and flee by foot to the North end of town to an abandoned farmhouse along Route One. They had apparently used that as a meeting place in the past, so Peter supposedly knew exactly where to go. Colin used deterrent spellwork to distract the nationalists until he was sure that Peter was out of sight. When the fighting died down, Colin made his way up to the farmhouse to meet Peter.

That was the last Colin had seen or heard from Peter. Peter was not at the farmhouse when Colin arrived.

When I asked him, Colin told me he knew everything about the letter and why the Dam People were interested in it. However, he refused to tell us anything until we were across the border in the safety of the Commonwealth. Afterward, he said that this was a complicated matter that needed to be reserved for a table discussion at a later time.

We have met with Cray Fenton and Meona Bell on this. Said discussion on the letter is to take place some time in January.

Susan Parans, we have found out, is safe and sound. She slipped across the border right after the shootout with the Dam People. Just on the other side, she met Colin, and was the one that told him about our predicament. And the rest is history. In the meantime, I am thankful to have survived such an ordeal. Though I do miss Peter.

<- 03 November 1321 <- || -> 24 January 1322 ->

#LOC-ThirdLevelSociety #LOC-TLS_FirstVersion #LOC-TLS-FirstVersion-11-QuoraAndQalmers #PartTwo-SophiaQalmers

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