8 July 2007 session notes--

1st Desire

Perdix pings Ilba to ask her to bring Ishkin up to carry the luggage down. Ilba rolls her eyes and does so.

Calvus and Ishta are searching Tully’s labs for Crow-eggs. Tully’s gathered some equipment and Marzipan and is heading back to Naapiisachi to burn it to the ground and scatter the foundation-stones. Calvus and Ishta find four eggs: the size of a fist, bluish-white, soft and squishy. They smell like mayonnaise. Ishta goes looking for something to put them in. Calvus pokes one magically; it bursts, splattering all over the floor. Neither Ishta nor Calvus are up to containing it. Perhaps Perdix could break whatever connection might have been made. Calvus wards the spill with rego, and they head up to Nil’s room.

Lhimpat’s memorizing the first 80 digits of pi while holding a pile of books in either outstretched hand. Nil invites Calvus in and Calvus says, we have Crow-eggs. Nil blanches. He examines the box Ishta provided. Reasonably secure. Calvus tells him about the one that burst. Perdo, says Nil. You can take care of it? says Calvus. I could perdo a box if I tried for a few hours, says Nil, so no. Perdix could. You want to study these? says Calvus. They’re sterile, aren’t they? says Nil. I don’t know, says Calvus. Nil hands them back. We need a more secure form of storage, says Nil. And Perdix to destroy the rest. Calvus asks Nil to go get Perdix to contain it immediately. Calvus heads off to his room.

Nishoba senses something bad is attacking the covenant. A sickness. It’s up in Tully’s labs. Nishoba goes to rally the birthday society. —Cameron feels nastily slimy. He’s drawn to the pool, but first he feels the need to get more paper, and red ink, and a bowl. Ndapé looks down at the plate of breakfast that reeks of mayonnaise. He hates mayonnaise. He grabs the salt pig and heads down to the pool. Cameron suggests decorating—prisms, perhaps! Tully’s chambers, says Nishoba. Cameron stoops and picks up a piece of chalk on the floor. He needed chalk.

Nil fetches Perdix. Perdix is nonplussed. No one else at the covenant has your ability with perdo, says Nil. Flattery will, says Perdix, and sighs. Ishkin, Ilba, please take the luggage down and wait for me. Will you be long? says Ilba. A few minutes, says Perdix. Magus Nil Admirari promised.

Perdix asks how the egg got broken. Nil pings Calvus and determines it was done magically. Perdix dithers and decides it would be safest if Calvus went to Woochi for a brine-bath. And they’ll need some brine here, as well. Ishta gets a guard to fetch the brine.

Nishoba sprinkles water about the tower; Cameron writes a sentence in chalk; Ndapé sprinkles salt. The tower’s secured.

Nil tells Perdix he’s leaving; at least one person should have a chance not to be contaminated. On his way out, he runs into the three apprentices, who tell him to stop! Nil is nonplussed to discover they’ve sealed the tower, and rather irately lashes them for not having checked before doing so. I suggest, gentlemen, that if this sort of magical compulsion is to become a regular part of your lives, that you learn to deal with it rationally.

The guard appears with the barrel of brine and Woochi following. Woochi asks to be let into the tower; Ndapé gives him salt, Nishoba gives him water, and Cameron writes a sentence on him. Woochi steps into the tower and heads up to Tully’s lab with Nil.

Palpebra’s meeting with the priests to update them on the current situation. He’s brought fruit baskets.

Woochi and Perdix discuss how best to handle and contain the spill. The problem is the tower’s full of vis. Perdix is attempting to feel out the extent of the spell, but can’t risk perdoing the connection without blowing half the devices in the tower. Woochi proposes washing the whole tower with the brine, setting out a symbolic egg in a proper nest. Perdix points out the ward Calvus originally laid, which they hadn’t broken. It’ll do. Ishta provides a glass egg.

Perdix’ intellego spell is done. They ping Ilba, who isn’t thrilled to learn there’s yet another delay.

The bugs are freaking out, and demand that Waakimbala find out why. He heads up to the covenant, passing the crowd of apprentices and picklers at the base of the tower.

Calvus appears at the tower; Ndapé tells him it’s clear now he wasn’t contaminated, and so won’t need a brine-bath. Calvus is distressed to discover how many magi are pent-up in the tower. It’s recommended the council meeting be put off till after lunch. Calvus finds Gi sleeping under a tree nearby (he’d been sent for the picklers, and is trying to make up for the sleep he didn’t get last night), nudges him awake with a booted toe, and tells him the council meeting’s postponed. Confused, Gi goes back to sleep.

Woochi finds a large copper basin. Ishta checks with Tully in Naapiisachi to make sure it’s okay to use. Is this the highest floor? he asks. There’s not an attic? No, says Ishta. I need a tin cup. Ishta asks Tully where a tin cup is. Tin cup, tin cup, says Tully; there’s no tin cups here, boss, says Marzipan. I’m talking to my other servant, says Tully. There’s no one else here, sir, says Marzipan. It’s called magic! says Tully. He tells Ishta which cupboard to look in.

Woochi has Ishta stand in the copper basin; she was first in after the spill. He mutters over the brine and pours it over her head. It smokes. He keeps pouring brine over her until it runs down into the basin. It’s blackish. He pours more until it runs clear. He asks her to step out and takes a piece of leather cord and ties it about her throat. He’s impressed it went this quickly.

Nil’s next. The brine doesn’t smoke. It oozes blackly down Nil’s head and body until it finally starts to slough clean. Hold up your arms, says Woochi. He pours some along Nil’s armpits. When it all runs clear, he ties a cord about Nil’s throat and then ties another about the arms of Nil’s spectacles. Then Perdix; they stand together in the basin, and Nil and Woochi pour brine over them. We’re going to have to burn these robes, says Perdix. These are my favorite robes. I find this strangely cathartic, says Nil. Shut up, Nil, says Perdix.

Woochi directs Ishta to carry brine-barrels down to the ground floor.

Waakimbala’s checking with Calvus, and explains the bugs cut their connection with him. Calvus tells him about the Crow-egg. The bugs check in as they’re speaking, and Waakimbala falls to the ground, moaning. Insect legs in his head scrape the knowledge out, and the bugs let go. Crow-eggs. Makes sense. Calvus tells him to go inform them, and change himself. It’s being dealt with, he says.

A bubble of pressure’s forming in the tower. Nil spills his barrel on the second floor.

Waakimbala returns to his home to find it being webbed in. My kids! he cries. —Calvus is speaking with Mens, trying to find out if the bugs are especially susceptible to Gætani god-magic. Mens clicks at him. Waakimbala gets his kids out; Mens scoots in as Waakimbala leaves, and the house is sealed up behind him. They stole my house! cries Waakimbala.

The bugs explain that now that they know what’s up, they’re sealing themselves off from it and they’ll be done with that in a minute and then he can have his house back. We’re done. They rip open a hole in the cloudy grey coccoon and come filing out very fast. How are they with Judges and Millers? asks Calvus. Waakimbala gets a blank look in response. They’d eat a Judge just the same as anyone else, says Waakimbala. But would the Judge’s magic have the same effect, or less of an effect, than Crow’s? I don’t know, says Waakimbala. We need to taste the magic first, say the bugs. Does Calvus want us to eat him? We could. No! says Waakimbala. If there were a bad Calvus. Or a worse Calvus. Rotting meat is still good, say the bugs. Waakimbala overhears Mens explaining that people make distinctions between each other, and Waakimbala asks him to explain Judges to the bugs. I’d forgotten who I was, says Mens. But yes. We’d need a sample. We need to know what we’re eating. But they’ve always told us not to eat people. Can we eat people now? —Let’s talk a minute, says Waakimbala. Over there. I think they want you to attack people, like in a war. We’d need to renegotiate, say the bugs. Yes! says Waakimbala. At least I should get a raise. More limbs? say the bugs. No, says Waakimbala. Mandibles? You do realize you’re freakishly low on limbs. How about for your children? Okay, a bigger house. The bugs point out that if they can eat some Crow-eggs, it’ll make eating Judges easier. Huh, says Waakimbala. —He negotiates with Calvus for a place for his family to stay. I’d stay at the inn, but no one pays me. What about your baskets? says Calvus. No one buys them! The bugs announce they’ll duel Waakimbala at dawn for baskets. Ack! cries Waakimbala.

Now! cries Woochi, and Perdix begins spilling their barrel on the third floor. The Crow-stuff flies into the air at Perdix; they lean back hands up, and the stuff flops into the glass egg. Woochi, muttering over the egg, picks it up and puts it in the box Ishta’s prepared.

The three apprentices break the seal, now that the stuff’s gone. Perdix pings Ilba and asks her to meet them at the castle; they need a hot bath, a fire, and clean robes. On the way out of the tower, Woochi’s assistants pour brine over his head.

Perdix stumbles into their castle. Ilba is shocked. They’re sober. Spankingly sober. Bath? they say, stripping off their robes. In there, she mutters, pointing. Anything else? Brandy, says Perdix. Also something scented, to wash this smell out of our hair. She stays out in the main room. Pickler exorcisms make Monkeys sleepy.

Tully checks in to make sure there’s nothing left to be done in Naapiisachi. Nishoba recommends gathering a quorum of priests to de-villageify it, but that can be done later. Tully’s coming home. Is my lab all right? They got the egg out, says Nishoba, and it smells like a Pickler’s barn. I’m mopping up. There’s nothing in that sentence that enrages me, says Tully. He heads home.

Dressed, and smelling somewhat less like a salad, Perdix leads Ilba back down to their luggage in the underground railway terminal. They load up and head off for Okla Lokchok.

Calvus, informed that no servant can find Sonata, heads down to the pool room and calls for her. They discuss what their apprentices had been up to, and he informs her of, well, the council meeting. Crow-eggs? says Sonata. I take it they’re dangerous. I have some, if you’d like to look at one, says Calvus. Ah, says Sonata.

Nil goes to wake Gi for the council meeting. Some of us have been getting dressed, he says. In more ways than one. If the council meeting is a little redolent of vinegar, accept our collective apologies. I’m late, says Gi. It was supposed to be after breakfast. It got bumped, says Nil. Right! says Gi. The tower. Yes, says Nil. There was a Crow’s egg. Crow? says Gi. A little egg from a crow? No, the bad kind, says Nil. Oh! says Gi. I thought they weren’t up here. Just come to the council meeting, says Nil.

Council meeting! Gi’s making cat’s cradles with the thong from Nil’s neck. Calvus announces the subjects of the meeting: the war, the Crow-eggs, the fact that there is a Crow; any other issues? Sonata attempts to say something about what happened the day before, but Gi and Palpebra haven’t been to the pool-room, and so none of the magi who were there can speak of it. Nil can bring up the subject of what the apprentices were up to this morning, but can’t speak of the origins of that behavior. —Sonata suggests a field trip. What exactly is going on? says Palpebra. It’s better to introduce you to it, says Sonata. Do I want to be introduced to it? says Palpebra. Maybe, says Ishta. Yes, says Sonata. Do you know what this is? says Palpebra to Gi. No, says Gi. Do we want to do this? I don’t know, says Gi. I’m getting a snarky answer out of Nil. Calvus and Tully argue that it might be best if some of the magi were to remain outside, as it were. All right, says Gi. You can stay. I’ll go. Nil? Nil defers to Ishta. All three head down to the pool-room.

Sonata and Palpebra talk vaguely about the “incidents” that took place yesterday. Can you be certain this isn’t some sort of attack? Yes, says Sonata. It isn’t, says Calvus. Hmm, says Palpebra.

Gi pokes Nil about Nil’s supercilious inability to directly discuss what’s going on. He’s totally picking a flirt-fight.

Ishta’s pointing out the various features of the pool-room to Gi, the built-up wards and different spells layered one on the other. She urges Gi to take a drink. He needs to drink some water. Gi frowns suspiciously at her, and walks up to the water, peering at it. Nil also has to drink. Would you like me to go first? Gi nods. Nil drinks. It tastes like vinegar. Everything tastes like vinegar. Gi drinks some. Sweet! And full of magic. And time. A vast amount of time. It’s very, very, very old water. He takes another drink, savoring the taste. He tries to speak to the water in his mouth. It wants him to protect it. He opens up the bit of here-ness in himself to the water. Earth, water; water, earth. This place will repay him greatly if he stays and keeps it safe. The water’s telling the dragon-earth it must be kept safe. The dragon-earth is asking the water to send an envoy. Ishta and Gi and Nil must stay while the water and earth negotiate. Who’s the wateriest? Nil. Send Nil. He can see very far. Can he send something very far?

Gi tells Nil he’s supposed to take the water somewhere else so they can talk. In the snake. The unnamed lands. —The dragon-earth and the water can hear the voices of the water-children playing and laughing. What if I say no? says Nil. No, he needs to go, say the water and the dragon-earth. One of the water-children appears in the pool-room. I could go with you! it says. Omphale crawls up out of the water and up Nil’s leg. We must go! she says. We must go! Where, says Nil. The earth! Not specific enough, says Nil. The here-earth! says Omphale. Nil sighs. Gi opens his mind to show Nil where it might happen. I’m not going! says Nil. You have to go. I’m not going! I’ll take you! Are they married? asks the water-child. We can take the seven-league boots, says Gi. It’ll take a couple of days. (To get there, he doesn’t say. They shouldn’t use the boots when they’re in there...)

They head back to the council chamber. Well? says Palpebra.

I’d wait, says Gi.

Yeah, says Palpebra.

Anyway, says Gi, we’ll be gone on a trip. For a couple of days. Where? says Palpebra. The unnamed lands, says Gi. On they’re honeymoon, apparently, says Ishta. Gi kicks her. Nil glares. We’ll need some seven-league boots, says Gi. To make it two days and not twenty.

Is Perdix involved in this? says Palpebra. Just yesterday, says Nil. No more than most of us. Where is Perdix? says Tully. They went to the capital. Permanently? No, says Nil. Can we vote to make it permanent?

What else were we talking about? says Gi. Judges, the war, that thing where you disappeared—

You disappeared? says Palpebra to Gi.

Yes, says Gi.

We need an agenda.

Calvus updates everyone on the progress of the war; how there’s only one Judge left, but he’s the primary Judge, with Miller devices, and how he’ll deputize new Judges soon. Palpebra proposes a policy of containing the Judge as much as possible. Should the Finger be here? says Sonata. We’ll brief him later, say Calvus. Tully briefs them on the Crow-strike in Naapiisachi. Nil protests the absence of the Finger; Calvus explains they don’t want the Finger present for the discussion of the slaughter of one of the other villages: the one Tully and Marzipan attacked, and Tully and Ishta mind-wiped. We shouldn’t reveal that magi were responsible for such a slaughter, urges Calvus. Let’s keep details to a minimum, says Palpebra. Ten Judges out of eleven in four towns. And the Crow, says Sonata. Yes, of course.

The Finger is sent for.

meta

“Wherefore art thou infected with Crow-goo?”