14 August 2005 session notes--

names

an unnamed junior Monkey-priest, played by Dylan;
Ittishoko’chi (to make a rustling sound with), a young scullery-girl, played by Matt;

1st Shame

scenes

It’s past midnight. Gi leaves Fata’chi’s cell and goes in search of Calvus. He tells Calvus that he might want to go oversee what Tully’s doing with the other Monkey-priest. Calvus is surprised to learn Fata’chi was the head of the local Monkey-priests. He’s wondering if he can get one of the Monkey-priests’ ritual items; Gi mentions the Monkey-masks.

Calvus has Robert read back a note: remember, there is a Procopian here! His name is Memorabilis, and he’s leaving on 1st Shame. We need to keep repeating this to each other back and forth, says Calvus, so we don’t forget. That explains where I got all the green cloth, says Gi. —So you’ll be leaving this morning? says Calvus. Maybe tomorrow morning, says Gi. Calvus offers to cast Endurance of the Berserkers on him. Maybe, says Gi. Calvus asks him for the details of what happened to Meretine. Gi’s impressed with Fata’chi, who’s had the willpower to bite through his own tongue.

They’re at the tower where Tully’s questioning the other Monkey-priest. Calvus knocks before entering. —Apparently, this Monkey-priest has been knocked into an existential ennui by Tully’s drill. Calvus and Tully discuss what the local townsfolk are likely to do to the Monkey-priests when they’re done with them. Run them through with spears and hang them by their own innards, maybe. That’s what they did in Waaka’ Tanampalhi’. —Tully demonstrates the drill. Did you put that high-pitched squeal in for psychological effect? says Calvus. No, says Tully. That’s the sound of bone being drilled. Stop talking, says the Monkey-priest. You’re still talking. We’d stop talking if you’d tell us something, says Calvus. —Some discussion of discussing. Talking and doing. I take it you weren’t the person in charge, says Calvus. Oh, no, says the Monkey-priest. I don’t do. I’m doing for. Not doing. Me. Doing for. Was this done for Fata’chi? says Calvus. Or your deity? Difference? says the Monkey-priest. Same sort of idea, really. I don’t delineate. I think that’s a word. I don’t talk.

I sort of gave up on information, says Tully. Right now I’m going for a really spectacular story about what happens to Monkey-priests who mess with us.

Buster and Ishkin arrive at Perdix’ door, and Buster knocks. A distant, tinny, but veru authoritative voice says, Come in! They do. Perdix is stepping out of their trunk. Ishkin explains he was sent up here to get away from the torture of the Monkey-priests. Perdix, flustered, demands to know where and who and why. Buster goes to the end of the room, where the half-built castle is, to lean out and point to the guard tower just past the corner of the Great Hall. He overbalances and tumbles out of sight. Ishkin and Perdix run to the end of the room to see him lying in the garden below, blinking dumbly. Perdix lifts him back to the room with Unseen Porter, and Buster brushes himself off and promptly leans out again to point. Ishkin catches him by his tabard. Perdix tells them both to stay, and heads out. Buster and Ishkin shrug, and Buster makes a drinking motion. Ishkin says it’s probably in the trunk. Buster goes over and tries to lift the lid off the trunk before realizing there is no lid. He squats down and sees the door, and opens it, tumbling into the trunk, where he finds a lovely little sitting room with a fire lit and candles and rushlights burning and books. I think this is one of the things they hang you for, says Ishkin. Buster waves him off, and then sees the giant mouse sitting in one of the chairs, nibbling on a giant seed. Buster turns and flees and trips over the threshold and falls, his foot trapped in the now-tiny doorway, and as he tries to work it loose he scoots back in enough to shrink down again. The mouse is sniffing his foot. Buster rolls over trying to draw his sword. Ishkin uses the butt-end of a shovel to poke Buster out of the doorway, and skips back as Buster balloons up to proper size; the shovel, twirling, topples and clonks Buster on the head. Buster goes down again, climbs back to his feet, steps on the blade of the shovel and clonks himself with the handle. He climbs back to his feet once more and grabs the shovel and throws it behind him. There’s the crash of toppling gravel. They turn to see Buster’s taken out the top half of one of Perdix’ castle towers. Buster starts to pick it up, but Ishkin says it’s okay, we’ll just spend a week rebuilding it. They sit. Buster suddenly remembers he’s had his flask with him the whole time, and pulls it out.

Back in his cell, the junior Monkey-priest admits having done to the pig. But not what it was for. He doesn’t ask. Where did you get the pig? At the whorehouse? says Calvus. Where’s the whorehouse? says the Monkey-priest. The place where you were stabbed, says Calvus. In my shoulder? says the Monkey-priest.

Tully pulls out a weird cap and sets it on the Monkey-priest’s head, then sets another one on his head. There’s big loops of wire joining the two, and lots of leather straps to be buckled. The Monkey-priest starts giggling. Tully’s asking him about people he’s done for. The Monkey-priest is confused. He asks about the priest’s mother; the town where he was born. He’s seeing images: the town, the central tavern. The sign hanging outside the tavern that says, Tavern. Oh well. The Brewer-priest who keeps the tavern. A moderately unattractive young woman. Not the Brewer-priest’s daughter. I do for her. Do what for her? I do for her. Tully’s seeing very rudimentary peasant sex. There’s a tavern-keeper too. A Brewer-priest. Did you ever get anything from him? No. Never? No. I do for her. And she does for me. She does something different for me. With the blood. Is this town north, south, east, dawnish? says Calvus. Which one is north? says the Monkey-priest. Which shoulder?

Was what you did with the pig and the prostitute part of a ritual? says Calvus. Or was that it? Was there more to do? I did for, says the Monkey-priest, and I was done. Was Fata’chi done? I don’t ask, says the Monkey-priest. Is there a Lover-priestess in your town? I don’t do that. Yes, but are there any? She doesn’t do anymore, says the Monkey-priest. She is old? No, she doesn’t do. Does she not do you? Or does she not do anyone? Oh, she never did me. But she doesn’t do for anyone. Tully sees a woman in her thirties, attractive, but ill, somehow. I didn’t do it, says the Monkey-priest. Did another Monkey do it? To her? says the Monkey-priest. She did for him. Are there many Monkeys who do things in your town? Not much town for doing, says the Monkey-priest. He laughs. I don’t talk.

Perdix bursts into the cell of the junior Monkey-priest. Perdix berates them for what they’ve done, and then kneels down by the Monkey-priest and begins to clean his wounds with cloth ripped from one of their undershirts. Abakoshi stands abruptly and leaves, heading over to the dungeon; after a moment, Shotik slumps, and the Aura of Rightful Authority leaves him, as the bells die. He asks Calvus for a couple of pawns of corpus vis, offering to pay Calvus back for it; Calvus leaves. Tully tells Perdix he doesn’t like their tone and anyway, you know what these people will do to these Monkeys, and Perdix tells Tully not to tell him about what his people will do, but what he expects the magi to do is what is loving and reasonable. Tully decides not to press the matter if Perdix asks politely for him to leave the Monkey to Perdix’ care, and Perdix does so, obsequiously. Calvus returns and throws a severed head at Perdix, who lets it bounce from his chest to the floor. The vis. Perdix retches in the corner.

Abakoshi, still full of the Aura of Rightful Authority, bursts into Fata’chi’s cell to see a flock of tiny songbirds fluttering about Fata’chi’s unharmed body. Sonata blocks Perdix with an arm and Perdix apologies for interrupting Sonata’s spell. Perdix and Gi step out into the hall, and after a brief discussion of what’s been going on, Perdix leaves to return to the junior Monkey-priest’s cell.

Sonata and Hoopoe sit across from Fata’chi with the Monkey-mask on her hand and begins to talk to Fata’chi, who trusts her and her birds, which are like ideas. He doesn’t trust the Monkey, though. Is she the Monkey? How many Monkeys have been here? Oh, at least a dozen. How many are here now? There’s three. Three? says the Monkey-mask. No, there’s four! says Fata’chi. No, wait, you got that from me, didn’t you? That’s me. There’s only three.

Abakoshi returns to the junior Monkey-priest’s cell, and together Perdix takes up the head and uses it to heal the Monkey-priest’s wounds. The priest tells them about the necklaces. How he gave one necklace to the wrong person. A woman who was the wrong woman, and who took the necklace and didn’t pass it on but kept it. Do you do for each other? he asks them. Perdix frowns. We aren’t each other, they say.

Cameron asks the Monkey-priest to connect the dots. He’s holding a piece of paper with a lot of dots on it that mark the outlines of the covenant buildings. The Monkey-priest draws lines to connect dots, outlining the buildings. You said you don’t write, says Cameron. I don’t read, says the Monkey-priest. Can you write I’ve been here? With words? No. Ah, well, says Cameron, rolling up the map. Is there anything you need? Are you comfortable? No, says the priest. Is there anything I can do to help? No, says the priest.

Perdix returns to their room, and notices the door to the trunk is still open. Did we leave that? Chittery? They see the mouse and wave. Do you still need us? says Ishkin. No, says Perdix. It should be safe for you to return to your tower. Tower? Cell, I mean. Tower? Perdix is peering at their castle as Buster hustles Ishkin out of the room and down to the brig. They’re stopped from going in, as Sonata’s still interrogating Fata’chi, so Buster hustles Ishkin down to the wine cellar. To keep him safe. And out of the way. —Perdix retires to their trunk, petting Chittery, sitting down on a sofa and one of the chairs when they suddenly remember what else they have to do. They leave and head down to the kitchens, where they see a lot of sleeping kitchen-folk, and 12-year-old Itti, still awake. They ask her for some melos. Would you like some pastries? Oh, the, ah, cheese ones? They sit next to the fire and invite Itti to have some melos and pastries with them.

Fata’chi tells Sonata and Hoopoe that the Monkey sees through the eyes and works through the hands and walks on the feet. Fata’chi is twenty-seven. He was given to the Monkeys when he was four. No one knows who the Monkeys are if they aren’t wearing their masks, but everyone knows how to find them. There’s a place. A tree or a shack. Is there a place here? Fata’chi doesn’t want to tell them about the pool, but he does. The pool. And then he’s calling out to his mother and begging her not to leave him alone in this place where is he who is that? —Sonata pulls back. He’s immobile, staring at the ceiling though half-lidded eyes, breathing shallowly. She begins wiping her hands obsessively.

Hoopoe flies about the covenant, looking for Monkey-eyes, poking to see if he can turn up anymore of the Monkey-necklaces.

Gi! says Calvus. (Gi has been looking for Calvus.) Did you know we have a Procopian here? Robert just informed me! He’s leaving on the first of Shame. I have something to give him. That would explain why I have all that green cloth! says Gi. And it would explain why I have five notes on my desk reminding me we have a Procopian here. Calvus discusses the possibility of collecting vis from the Monkey-priests’ hands when they’re executed, and the difficulties they might encounter. —Perdix has an issue with Tully’s torturing. To be honest, I have an issue with Tully’s torturing, says Gi. Calvus discusses what Tully saw with his helmet. If Tully’s up for such a thing, we may go on an excursion to find the Monkey-town. I have no real desire to go hunting Monkeys; they are clannish and vengeful. Gi tells Calvus what Sonata learned about the Monkey situation, and Monkey-magic. Do you think you will be able to work out some defenses? Oh, definitely, says Gi. Though wards only work if it’s not already inside. It’s becoming easier to detect these things. They must work with objects. It might be better to make a trigger. —So you are leaving now tomorrow? Yes, says Gi. I should get some sleep before I go talk to the monkeys. Gi gives Calvus the Monkey-mask.

There’s a knock on Lokhsi’s door. Chatelaine! says Calvus. She struggles awake. There is a Procopian here! Yes, says the Chatelaine. Calvus has a note and some boxes and papers. I need for him to deliver these things, but I did not write down where he’s staying. I have that note, says the Chatelaine. She digs it up. Perhaps I should write it down for you? Yes, says Calvus. You may want to let the other magi know there is a Procopian. If they have anything. This has a really familiar feeling to it, says the Chatelaine.

Memorabilis scribbles note to Calvus letting him know he’s spoken to Memorabilis and delivered what he wanted delivered.

At dawn, Perdix leaves the fire and wanders into the town, looking for Heshe’s house. Each of them with a foot on the threshold, they cast a spell to see if someone is awake. Heshe is. They knock lightly on the door. Heshe opens the door, sees who it is, and slams the door shut. Perdix knocks lightly again. Heshe wakes Tishkilla up and tells her to go deal with it. Tishkilla’s in a foul mood. What? I wanted to talk to you about the Monkeys, says Perdix. What’s to talk about? You’re going to turn them over to us and we’re going to kill them, right? —I guess so, says Perdix, after a moment, and then they leave. What was that about? says Heshe. It was that one, them, it, that thing, says Tishkilla. They wanted to talk to us about the Monkeys, and then they sighed and went away.

Jerry sees Gi up just after dawn and slaps him on the back. Gi! What’s up! Why haven’t you left yet? —Let’s have breakfast, says Gi. Oh, but I can’t sit here, says Jerry. This is where you great wise magi— So let’s move to another table you goddamn bastard! says Gi in Tobin. Jerry asks Gi what happened with the torture and the Monkeys and such. What are they gonna do to them? I got the brief version, but it sounds like it’s gonna get messy. I guess I gotta be there, too, since I’m the Mayor and everything. Just don’t interfere, says Gi. Oh, no, says Jerry. Gi tells Jerry about the third Monkey. Don’t talk about that, says Gi. I guess I’d better go talk to some monkeys, says Gi. I have to talk to Gieron, says Jerry. I have the worse deal. Yeah, I guess so, says Gi.

Cameron knocks on the junior Monkey-priest’s cell door. Good morning! he says. I come bearing gifts. Could we untie him? I have breakfast, and then he unloads some paper and pen, a little bit of water, a comb, a fresh shirt, and a pillow. How are you feeling? All right, says the priest. Is there anything you’d like? To not be here. Sorry, says Cameron. It’s probably not much comfort that soon you won’t be. The priest shakes his head. If you do want to write a note to anyone, there’s that option, says Cameron. And you can be sure the food isn’t poisoned. What’s going to happen? says the priest. Have you ever been in a town where they caught a Monkey? says Cameron. Left before that happened. Well, they’re going to hang you. But they’re going to make it hurt first. But probably not any more painful than what you’ve already endured. When? I think today, says Cameron. Who does know? I suppose the Lover-priestesses. I think we’re giving them over sometime today, says the guard, but we don’t have orders yet. Will you kill me first? says the priest. I’m sorry, I can’t, says Cameron. But that’s dishonest. I can, but I won’t. You’ll be dead anyway, and I have to live with these people for many, many years. Can I see the two? I don’t have the power to command him, says Cameron, but I will convey to the two, whose name is Perdix, that you’d like to speak. Yes, says the priest.

Gi goes over to talk to Perdix, and Perdix says they want a council meeting. They want to know—everyone should know—if it’s really the will of the covenant to hand the Monkeys over for such a brutal execution. Should we do it soon? Yes, says Perdix. Then we should do it now, says Gi.

Cameron goes to Sonata’s room and knocks; there’s the sounds of splashing. Sonata’s still bathing. She gets out of the bath and dries off. Cameron compliments her on her bravery in digging into Fata’chi. Cameron says the junior priest asked for Perdix. Perdix, says Cameron, is looking extremely disturbed by the forthcoming execution. I was wondering if I should pass the message on, or, foolish apprentice that I am, forget to do so. I think you should forget, says Sonata, and then there’s a knock on the door, summoning them to a council meeting. Sonata asks Cameron to bring her wine and breakfast in the council chambers.

The magi assemble, minus Tully. Nishoba arrives to give his report: everyone is extremely angry with the Monkeys, and they’re looking forward to killing them horribly. What does this involve? asks Calvus. Depends, says Nishoba. They might cut off their genitals and feed them to them, except Mitsi asked for them as a souvenir— They will brutalize them, says Perdix. Destroy their bodies, break them, humiliate them, drag them through the streets. Yes, says Nishoba. And then burn them. Their hands will have some vis value, says Calvus. Do you think we can convince them to leave them intact? Perdix is appalled.

Gi snaps at Perdix. You’re acting like it’s clean in Tyr. Like executions are a clean kill there. They aren’t. I’d stop it there, too, says Perdix. It’s wrong no matter where it’s done. Did the things we did yesterday mean nothing to anyone else?

Perdix votes in favor of not turning over the Monkey-priests, but, fine, sure, keeping the hands, and eyes, for vis. Ishka votes she doesn’t care, but whatever is done, it should be clear it’s a gift allowed the townsfolk. Sonata thinks we don’t know enough of Monkey-magic. If this is the way they protect themselves, and we don’t allow it to be done, then we need to do something to protect them, and we don’t know enough, we aren’t powerful enough against Monkey-magic, to do it ourselves. —I think there’s a competition going on, says Ishka. There’s too much activity, and they’re a notoriously fractious priesthood. They’re one-upping each other. And we’re a target. Putting one over on us gives them prestige. —Do you think it will make us less of a prestigious target once the villagers slaughter these two Monkeys? Could go either way. Might up the ante for some, but make others hesitant. But if we react, says Calvus, then they’ll know they got a reaction out of us. Gi votes to hand the Monkeys over, but that they should not be dragged through the streets. Nishoba says that the dragging through the streets is an important part. The spilling of the Monkey-blood on the ground. Then I withdraw my objection, says Gi. The three parts that are most important, says Nishoba, are the dragging through the streets, getting beaten by everybody, and the burning. I don’t know if it matters if they’re alive or not when they’re burnt. Usually it’s done just before they die. Oh! And giving the Monkey-penis to the brothel. From talking to everyone, that’s going to be important to the town.

My vote, says Calvus, is that we hold it to what is important. What’s vital in breaking the Monkeys’ connections to the area.

Does it matter if they feel pain? says Ishta.

It would matter if they withstood it and mocked us while we did it, says Nishoba. They usually do that at the beginning. Shotik gets up and goes to see what’s up with Fata’chi. He’s very far away, and talking to his mother. Shotik manages not to vomit in the corner.

Tully slips in quietly. —Ishta proposes negotiating with the townsfolk about what they can or can’t do, which disgusts Perdix. If we give them over, we give them over, says Perdix. You can’t try to find a compromise. Will you dictate how deeply they can cut? How many bruises? How many bones they can break? We can try to find a reasonable level, says Ishta. There is nothing reasonable about this! says Perdix. What will you do if they violate your strictures? Kill them, says Ishta. And break the ritual that’s the only reason we’re doing this in the first place! snaps Perdix.

Shotik returns, and Perdix tries to circumvent this discussion of reasonable limits by proposing a resolution: that the captured Monkey-priests be handed over to the town’s priesthoods, so they might do what they will. Perdix votes against. The other magi vote in favor. Calvus agrees to arrange the handover. Calvus asks if the concil is agreed that they should try for the Monkeys’ hands. Ishta says we should claim a hand, an eye, and a foot from each as our due.

Is that what the meeting was about? says Tully. He gets up and leaves. Sonata follows him. You did not miss anything, she tells him. And you look like shit, says Tully. Did you find out anything useful? I think so, says Sonata. I have some information that with some ridiculous effort might find us the home town of the junior Monkey-priest, says Tully. —Sonata tells Tully about going into Fata’chi’s mind, and compares it with the Judge. I know at least I can gain entry into their minds. There’s been a dozen different Monkeys here, says Sonata. We need some way of tracking them and catching them.

I have no idea even how to think about trying to begin, says Tully.

meta

Nothing much, except I had to retype a lot of this after the fact, because there was so much going on all at once and I was in a lot of it. —It’s cool, though, how all the various disparate threads of the past few sessions are slotting themselves into inevitable story-places; foreshadowing! The hallmark of great literature!

Also, we should note that one of the Monkey-masks is in one of the boxes which Calvus packed for Memorabilis. It’s addressed to Quintus Opacus.

“Do not tell me about the rites of my people!”