Previous Luther, Blackbird, Brennan file.

Schol and Jhereg came from here.

Narrator:

A small man in a cloak appears around the tent flap. he's some 20 ft. distant. His gait is unsure as though he's not exactly certain where he's going and his manners are those of a blind man.

His features are hidden by the cowl of the cloak; on his hands are leather gloves and not an inch of skin is exposed.

He seems to stop to listen for a moment and at Blackbird's last comment he turns and walks toward her.

Schol:

Blackbird? I heard some shouting. What's going on?

Blackbird: [with obvious delight]

I didn't know you were here!

Bother Richard and Jhereg for not saying anything. It's good to see you! I always feel safer when you are around.

Schol:

It's good to see you again as well, Blackbird.

Blackbird:

Brennan's here, and I'd like you to meet my new friends Sir Hesketh and Sir Luther.

This is Schol, instructor of tactics at the chapterhouse of the Order of the Helm in Arundel. I'm glad to number him among my closest friends, and I've sworn my sword to his service.

Hesketh and Luther are both knights of McKitrick. Sir Hesketh is the heir to one of the oldest, most respected families in that duchy and undoubtedly the finest knight ever produced by that venerable house. Sir Luther is the first of his blood to be knighted. He wears his spurs as a representative of another McKitrick lord -- one who unfortunately is unable to carry out the duties of his station personally and must therefore trust in Sir Luther to uphold his family's honor.

Brennan:
Glad to see you're still in one piece, Schol. It's been a long time. Perhaps we can talk later?

Schol:
Thank you Brennan. It's good to see you as well. Sure, at dusk perhaps?

Hesketh:
The stories about you are many - and contradictory. Thou hast friends in high places, but enemies amongst us here. There is more than one bounty hunter from McKitrick and elsewhere in this camp.

Blackbird: [to herself]
Anyone tries, there will be one less bounty hunter fouling up the place.

Schol:
I've noticed that I get more dangerous with every story. Hopefully I'll never meet me in a bright alley.

I thank you for the warning. I've been concerned about such things. I'll be certain to be careful.

Jhereg: [Silently walking up with an excited Kel in tow. He carries a bow in his hand and a full quiver of arrows over his shoulder.]

Six fewer enemies as of this morning. I think that the others will get the hint. I still have plenty of rope.

Hesketh:

As to the fine accolades the Anchor has bestowed, I cannot lay claim to all of the honors she lays at my feet. Only after I am buried and the house of Hesketh has passed intact and well off to able hands will my deeds be measured against the high standard set by my ancestors.

And, though they wish it otherwise, Sir Luther's liege is not a lord in McKitrick. All else she says is true indeed.

Brennan: [to himself]
Is he reading that?! Gad what a slick tongue! And brutally frank too! Or did he mean to poke Luther?

Blackbird:
He is a landholder. In the most basic sense, any nobleman who holds land is a lord, at least in Waltham. Perhaps your technical terms in McKitrick differ.

Luther:
Please. Fortunately, Robin does his own bowing so I never have to remember which lord is really at which station and who's not in favor with who this week.

If wishes were acres, we'd be on Robin's land even now.

I know naught of other lands, but in McKitrick, there is a difference between someone who manages a bit of land as a fief and someone who is a true Noble. Sir Robin holds an amount of land, um, appropriate for a knight, but he is not numbered among the McKitrick Nobility.

...

Narrator:

After the introductions...

Blackbird:

The shouting you heard was because of Brennan's friend Maia -- perhaps you remember her from Harold's wedding -- and her kitten. The kitten is big enough to look you in the face, and when they brought it into the camp, it decided to, uh, play with Sir Luther. Fortunately Luther suffered no lasting injury.

Things quite nearly got out of hand when I suggested that the creature be restrained. Maia objected to my suggestion in most heated terms.

There's yet a scorched spot on the ground outside where she stated her objection.

Differences were resolved peacefully.

Schol:
I'm most impressed with your restraint. Previously you wouldn't take such a thing so lightly and to be honest I'm not sure I ever would.

Brennan:
Well, you simply can't restrain an animal like that. Someone would certainly have gotten hurt had your suggestion been taken literally. And Beauty did nothing wrong - at least not for a cat. The mistake was mine for bringing her here in the first place.

As far as Maia's reaction goes, she's really doing quite well considering how little she's had to deal with people before this.

I wish you could have met her under different circumstances -- she's really quite wonderful...

uh...to talk to...I mean, she knows quite a lot!

Kel: [babbling in his excitement]
Oh, will you bring it back? I just love animals. Did you see any snakes on the way? Will Maia be back? Would she tell me all about your trip?

Narrator:
Brennan nods and smiles at Kel's questions, but the conversation moves on before he can respond.

Schol: [Somewhat confused]
Then this Maia isn't human either? What species is she?

Blackbird:
She's human.

Brennan: [mutters]
Sometimes...

Blackbird: [to Brennan]

Of *course* you can restrain an animal like that. It's done all the time. That's what nets are *for*. It wasn't a matter of whether Beauty did anything "wrong." Animals never do anything "wrong," they just act according to their natures. What mattered was whether Beauty's nature would impel her to continue mauling residents of the camp.

I am glad you were able to control her sufficiently to make more radical measures unnecessary, but if you weren't, then netting her and caging her would have been the most humane option available. All the other actions people might have taken would likely have proven fatal to her.

Narrator:
Maia, having finished her conversation with the cooks, starts back to join Blackbird, Luther, and Brennan. However, the small group she had left not so long ago has now grown to a crowd, so she veers off back to the woods.

Maia: [to herself]
I think I'd better check and see how Beauty is doing. Entirely too many Others there for me.

Brennan: [rolls his eyes]
Yes, Blackbird.

Did we see a snake! Ha! Every animal, every plant, even the land itself becomes progressively larger as you near the castle. And yes, one morning I saw a snake the likes of which may never have been seen before! It's girth was comparable to that of my thigh, and it was one of the smaller species -- there are no doubt larger ones that we didn't happen upon.

The effect around the castle is very peculiar. At first I thought that it was caused by something that the flora and fauna were exposed to. Something that was somehow concentrated around the castle. But that cannot be the case since the oldest trees, though larger, were no closer together than they would have been normally (although the effect may pre-date the oldest trees

to have been stretched as well. We never did get to the castle...you know, if the distortion gets more and more significant the closer you get to the castle, it would take longer and longer to travel the distance.

One must really wonder how this was accomplished!

Another peculiarity is why there's no migration between bands of sizes -- one would think that give an opportunity, predators would wander into areas where their abnormal size made locating prey easier for them. When I saw that this was not the case, I assumed that if animals did wander out of their band, that their size changed accordingly, but as you can see with Beauty, that's not the case (or at least it doesn't happen very quickly.)

For a while I wondered if we hadn't gotten smaller, instead of everything else getting bigger. That would have explained why Maia couldn't find anything wrong with the vegetation, and why 50-pound flying squirrels didn't break their legs jumping from tree to tree. I mean, after all, the bones and muscles of all animals are made of the same stuff, and simply scaling an animal up should make its body as limited as those of the animals that are that size naturally. This idea was shot when I tried to lift something larger than I usually can with no more success than usual, and, of course, when Beauty retained her size.

And finally, what energy source sustains this effect? Any magic I've ever seen eventually wears away without a power source. Schol -- your insights would particularly helpful here -- you've done a lot more research than I in this area. Any ideas?

Narrator:
Schol is busy in a side conversation and doesn't hear Brennan's direct question. Brennan waits patiently for a while, then begins to wonder where Maia is.

Brennan: [to himself]
She should be finished talking to the cooks by now... there isn't *that* much you can say about seasoning venison!

Narrator:
Brennan gets up and walks over to the cooking area. Not finding Maia, he heads back into the woods surrounding the encampment.

Brennan: [to himself again]
She's probably gone back to check on Beauty.

Next file.