In reply to Tristan (msg # 22):

You creep along the road, waiting to dive back into the woods should those soldiers show back up.

As you get near the point where the road rises up over the small hillock, you can hear sounds from the other side.  Where the bridge is.

There's the sound like something metal is striking something metal.  And you hear some odd words being shouted out.  They...seem really weird.  They almost make you feel drowsy.

But the voice is too familiar to fall asleep.  Uncle?  It sounds like Uncle.

The whatever you've been feeling?  It's just on the other side of the hillock.

Can't recall what name we decided to give the Uncle.  Not that it matters.

But for now, I'm just referring to him as "Uncle"

Tristan moves to the side of the road, or even just off it, if this is practical.  He tries to keep his head clear as he presses forward toward the sounds, taking great care to not be seen.

You peek over the hillock.

The men who had been guarding the bridge are all laying on the ground.  There's three more men standing there now.

Two of them look like soldiers too. But they don't have uniforms.  One is a big man, bigger than any guy you've ever seen.  The other one is tall and lanky.  For some reason, he reminds you of a weasel

In between them, arms crossed, looking over the guys on the ground, is your Uncle.  He looks up, scanning the trees.

"I think he's around here somewhere."

Tristan slowly, carefully, and preferably silently retreats into the woods.  He absolutely does not like the looks of this.

08:22, Today: Tristan rolled 2 using 1d10-3.  stealth/qik.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:22, Tue 29 Nov 2022.

In reply to Tristan (msg # 26):

You start to slither back into the woods.  But you feel that odd sensation again.  This time it's heavier.  Like something crawling over your skin.

Uncle seems to be waving his hands and muttering.  He then looks right towards you.

"Tristan!  Come here!  It's me.  You're safe now."

Tristan is confused.  He wants to believe that his uncle is here to help him.  In a moment of childish weakness, he takes a hesitant step forward.

In reply to Tristan (msg # 28):

As you come out, Uncle's grin broadens.

"It's alright Tristan. You're safe now."

He seems the boots a moment, and then looks back at you.

"You seem to have had quite a time.  You hungry?  Let's have some fish.  And you can tell me about what happened.  Your parents...weren't helpful."

Tristan suddenly worries he's made a mistake.  But he also realizes it's too late.  He has to trust his uncle.  It's the only way now.

He can't quite get a smile to form on his face, but he walks toward his uncle and starts to babble about voices in the barn and giants' feet and enslaved children and everything else that has happened to him recently.  He also says that yes, he would love to have fish.  In fact, he would love that very much.

My parents weren't helpful... what does he mean?  Tristan tries not to think too much about that.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:53, Fri 02 Dec 2022.

In reply to Tristan (msg # 30):

Uncle listens for a bit.  The two men with him drag the guards off behind a tree.

Uncle waits a bit longer, nodding and making expressions as you tell him the tale.

"The fae already reached out for you, eh?  Well.  I'm not surprised."

When the two men rejoin you both, Uncle nods at them.  "This is Collin."

The big man nods at you.

"And this is Ferko."  The tall, lanky one nods.

Uncle turns, heading towards the bridge.  "Anyway. Come with me.  We'll set up a camp.  Ferko.  See about those fish."

Collin bends down and suddenly scoops you up.  He smiles at you.  "You look tired.  Why don'tcha let me carry ya a bit young master?"

Uncle leads the two of you up a hill on the opposite side of the stream.  On the other side of it, a small camp has been established.  A woodpile is gathered in the center.  Uncle waves a hand in an odd way and mutters something odd.  You get that feeling again.

Then the wood pile suddenly roars into a fire.

Uncle sits on a log set up as a seat near the fire.  He gestures for you to sit on the other end of the log.

"Come sit while we wait for fish.  You must have some questions, right?"

He tries to think of a question he can ask without angering his uncle.  Also, he tries not to let his worry show on his face.  But it’s hard.  “What did you mean about the… Fae?”

In reply to Tristan (msg # 32):

Ferko returns with a line full of fish.  He's indeed fast.  It would take you all day to catch so many.

As Ferko sets about cleaning them, Uncle grins.  "Come now Tristan.  You know about the Fae.  The faeries.  There's a whole world beyond what most can see Tristan.  And lucky you..."  He reaches over, sticking out a long, boney pointer finger, and poking you gently right between the eyes.  "You can see that world.  And you're going to see it."

He sits back.  "There's things I should tell you.  But we'll get to all that as we go.  First things first though.  You're coming with me.  We're going back to my home.  I have a rather big house.  And you'll live in it with me.  I'm going to teach you things Tristan.

"But there are some rules.  And these are rules that can't be broken.  The first rule is...until I say otherwise...you can only go where I tell you you can go.  Do you understand?"

Tristan swallows an icy lump of fear.  "What about my parents, sir?  My chores?  They'll be mad at me..."

But then suddenly, all the child in him disappears and his face hardens.  He scowls, and something else seems to speak in his voice.

"I'll follow your rules... until I don't."
This message was last edited by the player at 14:09, Sat 03 Dec 2022.

In reply to Tristan (msg # 34):

Uncle stares at you, then laughs.  It's a pretty robust laugh.

"You don't need to worry about your folks any more.  I mean...be honest.  Are you really going to miss them?

"As far as obeying...well.  We'll see what happens at the point you don't.  For now...fish."

Freko serves out some sticks with roasted fish on them.

"Ask me any questions you have before we go to sleep.  I'll indulge you in them tonight."

Tristan greedily eats the fish, getting oil and juices all over his small hands and chin.  He has already forgotten the defiant words he’d spoken to his uncle, which he’d felt certain would earn him a beating, at least.

When he finishes, he asks his uncle how he started the fire.

In reply to Tristan (msg # 36):

Uncle grins.  "Oh.  So you did notice that, did you?"

He waves a hand and mumbles something.  And you slowly start to rise.  Your body comes off hte ground, away from the fish bones and floats upwards.  You can't feel anything lifting you up. There's no pressure or weight under you, pushing you upwards.  No arm is dangling down from above, pulling you skyward.

You start to float above the height of a grown man.  And then a bit further.  And you start there.

Uncle is looking up at you, smirking. "It's simple Tristan.  I used magic to start the fire.  It's because I have what's called "The Gift".

"As do you Tristan.  As do you."

A strange feeling came over Tristan… not fear, exactly, but helplessness; a remarkably mature, detached appreciation of how utterly powerless he was to influence his own destiny.  Being suspended in the air by a power he couldn’t understand made it all clear to him.

At first he could think of nothing to say to his uncle.  But finally, he asked the only question there was enough room in his head for.  “What if I don’t want it?  Can Santa Claus take it back?”
This message was last edited by the player at 13:34, Wed 07 Dec 2022.

In reply to Tristan (msg # 38):

Funny, but I will warn you:  some of the players of AM can be really uptight about historical accuracy.  Santa would have just been called Saint Nicholas in England at this time.  And I don't think he was a gift giver at this point in history.

Yeah.  I know.  But I've seen Ars Magica games fall apart because of an argument about whether forks were in use in 12th century Sweden.  No lie.

Uncle smirks.  "I'll grant you it's got it's downsides.  For one thing...you know how your family hates you?  It's because you feel different to them.  And that's because of your Gift.  It's not you that makes them uncomfortable.  It's your Gift.  It's why you've been treated like you have been. Surprised?"

You start to descend.  Slowly.

"But everything has a price.  And the greater it's value, the higher the price.  The Gift carries a hefty price.  But that's because it's worth so much."

You stop just above the ground.  Even if you stretch your toes, you can't quite touch the earth.

"There's nothing you can do about it.  You either have the Gift or you don't.  You are who you are Tristan.  If you do nothing about it...well.  That's not a good life.  People will always be cruel to you.  Sooner or later you'll suffer at their hands.  Or at your own.

"But fortunate, fortunate you.  I found you Tristan.  And now you'll get the chance to find out the value of your Gift.  I'm going to teach you Tristan.  I'm going to show you how to use it.

"Have you ever heard of magicians Tristan?  Or the Order of Hermes?"

I will leave it to you if you've heard the name.  Whatever you do know, it would be what you think medieval villagers would say about magi

“I never heard of the Order of… Hams?  Whatever you called it?  Sorry.  But I heard of magicians… guys who tell you to pick a card, then tell your future; you see ‘em at a carnival, or something like that.  Or they tell you to pick which cup the ball is hiding under.  Don’t know much about ‘em.”

I was a bit concerned that Santa would be an anachronism… I’ll keep what you said in mind in the future.

In reply to Tristan (msg # 40):

Uncle cocks an eyebrow.  "Order of...Hams?"

He suddenly starts laughing  A real, belly ache kind of laugh.  The two soldiers grin wickedly and glance at you.

Uncle wipes a tear from his eye.  "Oh my.  I gotta tell Surdi that one."

He looks back at you, smiling.  "I'm not talking about tricksters boy.  I'm talking about power."

You start to rise into the air again.  This time, you rise above the tree line.  You hover there a moment...and then you fall.

The ground comes rushing up at you.  There's barely time to scream if you chose to do that.  But just inches away from landing, you stop, freezing in mid air, upside down.

Your body spins, until you're facing Uncle again.

"You want to be happy Tristan?  I mean it.  Do you want to feel like you're alive?  To live to where no once can pick on you?  That takes power Tristan."

This is too much for his immature nerves to handle.  He trembles, watching his uncle with dread, waiting to be put down.  Power. He knew the word.  It was a grown-up word; a serious word.  It made him think of generals and kings, judges and high priests.  It wasn’t a word he associated with something else his uncle had mentioned: happiness.  Of course, his uncle was right: he didn’t want to be picked on; he would love to put himself above all of that for the rest of his life.  But he wasn’t stupid.  He knew he was being manipulated, and his uncle’s motives couldn’t possibly be pure.  The man wanted something… and whatever it was, it had nothing to do with Tristan’s interests.

Gradually, his fear fades, and as it does, he keeps his silence.  Realizing he needs to think very carefully about what happens next.

Finally, the boy speaks.  "Power... I don't think I know what that means yet.  This is going to be hard, isn't it?"
This message was last edited by the player at 19:58, Sat 10 Dec 2022.

In reply to Tristan (msg # 43):

Uncle's smile seems to soften a little bit.  You gently touch the ground.

"Everything in life is hard Tristan.  It just depends on how fast it's going when it hits you."

He gestures at the spot you were sitting, indicating for you to sit back down.

"The lessons will be hard, yes.  You'll need to learn them quickly as well.  We have a lot of ground to cover.  You'll be taught to read and write.  I'll start teaching you about magic.  And..."

He considers a moment and then shakes his head.  "I'll tell you the rest of it later.  That's enough for you to absorb at the moment.  But first things first.

"My proper name is Erat Alba.  I am a magi of House Merinta, the Order of Hermes.  You will address me as "master" going forward.

"We are returning to my home.  It is to the north.  In the highlands.  It's called Creag Dhubh.  Questions?"

Tristan shakes his head no.  He wonders if he’ll be able to sleep at all tonight.

Erat Alba… He repeats that to himself.  It seems important that he remember that, at least.  But he realizes there is no way he’ll remember everything.

He tries telling himself that he’s been beaten before, he’s been worked hard before, he’s been badly treated before.  All of those things would surely happen again, only… different.  But maybe not worse.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:28, Mon 12 Dec 2022.

In reply to Tristan (msg # 45):

They don't beat you the next morning.  But they do make you walk.

Before the sun has risen, you're shaken awake and given some tough bread to eat.  The four of you then begin following the road to the north.

Uncle...Erat Alba...Master...You'll need to pick a name for him, doesn't say much that first day.  He simply walks behind the big man named Collin.  The tall, lanky one named Ferko follows along behind you.  He seems to trail you, not straying far from your back no matter how fast or slow you go.

You stop for a quick lunch at noon.  Some dried berries and a handful of that stale bread.  Then it's back to walking.

Just before the sun starts to dip, Uncle/Master/Erat Alba holds up a hand.  The two men start to set up camp.  Uncle/Master/Erat walks over to stand in front of you.

"Tired?"  He smiles.  Or smirks.  There's too many shadows falling across his face to tell for sure.  "You'll need to get used to this level of work.  I know you're not a lazy fellow.  So you should be okay, right?"

Tristan smirks.  "I live on a farm, master.  I know what work is.  This is nothing."

Still wouldn't turn down a magic carpet, he adds silently.

But some perverse thing inside him prompts him to add, "I can work even as hard as you.  Master."
This message was last edited by the player at 04:03, Wed 14 Dec 2022.