On the Outside

[Bjorn]

Shit.  Frying pan to fire without even jumping.  Well.  Defense in depth.

Bjorn stares at the ground.  "In all honesty?  I told you and Master Liandral, outside the pass, that my memory has been... shaky since the ambush."  He looks up to meet the Lady's eyes, a genuinely pained expression on his face -- telling half-lies to someone so obviously confused and upset does not go down well with him.  "That was a bit of an... understatement, I'm afraid."

[Brian]

"I could tell," she says, shaking her head, and looking at you wryly.  "The real Bjorn wouldn't have waited until the door was closed at a chance to be alone with me.  So, who are you, and why are you here?" she asks, her hand trapping your own from reaching your sword.

[Huitzil]

Paul ignores the requests and catcalls and concentrates on the music, staring at his hands as he sings, trying to decipher how they do what they do.

[Bjorn]

It might be inappropriate, but Bjorn feels more relief at being unveiled than panicked -- at least he doesn't have to keep pretending.  He half-grins at the Lady, taking no notice of the restraint she's placed on him.  "I thought I was doing quite well, given my acting skills.  Apparently, you're a much better actor than I."

His face sobers, and he purses his lips in thought.  "As for who I am...."  He shrugs with one shoulder.  "I'm Bjorn, but, I think, a Bjorn from a different time and place.  The same person with a different history, if you will.

"As to why I'm here..." he shrugs again.  "There's a darkness, an Enemy, threatening the world where I came from, and I'm trying to fight it.  And, somehow, that brings me here -- where there's another force of darkness threatening mankind."  He shakes his head.  "Unfortunately, our oracle is considerably vaguer than the guidance you have, but it seems to me that to defeat my Enemy, I must help you vanquish yours."

He falls silent, studying the face of the Lady.

[Brian]

The lady's face twists into a grimace, and she releases your wrist.  "I had hoped I was wrong," she said quietly.  "You and ... I suppose Bjorn, Niel, Cerric and Miram ... they died, I thought.

"Liandral, he said that he thought Phil and Nathan, and even the Loremaster were dead, but then something happened -- something came into that room, and the wounds and damage to your armor was undone when we looked again.  But you were not given back to us ... you are someone else using the vessel of who used to be."

She turns to look at you curiously.  "What world do you come from, and what do you know of ours?  While our causes are aligned, I imagine you don't know everything you would wish to of our world."

[Bjorn]

Bjorn shrugs, again.  "How can I answer your question?  I come from a place called Earth, and it's very different.  I wouldn't even know where to begin.

"As for the other... what I know of this place is exactly what I've learned from watching and listening since I awoke here -- which means, m'Lady, I got most of it from you.  I know something about the Dreadmarch and the war between the gods, and that's it.  That hasn't helped at all in trying to fit in."

He grimaces, himself, and looks away.  "I'm... sorry that I've lied to you.  My best understanding was that my quest required me to become the Bjorn of this place, and so I did my best."  His expression turns embarrassed.  "I didn't really expect a situation like... this."

[Brian]

"This world is called Earth, too," she supplies helpfully.  "Regardless, it's fitting, I suppose.  I had to pay for my sin somehow."  She frowns.  "I only hope that it is just I that pays.  You must understand, though, we cannot change who people think you are ... not yet, at least.  This is going to be difficult.

"You were born into a family that was indentured.  A common method of repaying this debt of servitude is to give the firstborn of your family to whom the debt is owed.

"The King's Law outlawed slavery ages ago, however, so the only ones capable of holding the ties of that debt became the gods, or ... the churches, in their stead.

"Essentially, at a young age, you were given to the church and had your past erased so that you could serve Hamar.  I was somewhat older, of course, as my parents didn't owe the church anything ... but a female heir would have been inconvenient.

"Regardless, most anyone will recognize you, outside of ... the ones who I can only imagine came with you, or those like Liandral, who have a skewed view of anyone outside of themselves, and the storm-runners.  Er, those like Nathan and Philip.

"As a vassal of the church, you can expect that everyone will know of your prowess in battle ... but at the same, you are forbidden to fraternize with those outside of the order.  In a war, you outrank any footsoldier, but in times of peace, your will is entirely subject to the church, and most importantly, to Hamar himself.

"But can such a tie bind you after death?"

[Ginrai]

Wondering how the rest of the audience are reacting to Paul's selection of music, Ginrai looks around.  He also looks to see if he can have another glass of beer and some more bread.

[Bjorn]

Bjorn frowns.  "Recognize me... you mean, recognize me as a vassal of the Church?"  He shakes his head.  "There's a great deal in what you just said that I don't understand.  What the storm-runners are, for example, or what you mean by Liandral having skewed perceptions.  But what should come first, I think... m'Lady, it's a lot to ask, I know, but can you teach me what I must know to pass as Bj... as a vassal of the Church?  I will not get far, or accomplish much of anything if I make everyone doubt me."

[Brian]

Ginrai: When the cook comes around, he gives you a bit more bread, and another cup of beer.  It doesn't seem to affect you, so either this body is used to it, or it's just incredibly weak.

Bjorn: "Well, your insignia ... your armor would be recognized.  If not that, they'd see the sign of Hamar on you.  There is no temple of Hamar at Stormwall Keep.  There's no proper temple there at all, so you won't need to fool any other clergy.  There will be ... representatives of the other churches, however.  They don't follow Hamar, and their ways are different enough from ours that it should not be a concern.

"But as a rule, vassals of the Church make no move save that which they are ordered to by the clergy.  Which would be me, I suppose.

"It also means that you would not do anything outside of either participating in the war, or doing the service of the church.  Which is all we will have time for.  I can't see that changing soon.

"Liandral is of the," and she says something here, but it reaches your ears as, "elves."  Another one of those not-quite matching-ups of this world.  "They tend to be limited, and confine themselves to a single society.  They therefore assume that humans should, too.

"The storm-runners are those who live in the lands furthest north, hunting the armies of the Dreadmarch through their season-long days.  They used to be from the southlands, and return there once every so often, according to Liandral.  Of course, once enough time had passed, they went south less and less, finally only leaving the frozen lands to trade with those at Stormwall Keep."

[Bjorn]

Bjorn nods, slowly.  "Why are we taking the Draughts of Life to Stormwall Keep?  What, exactly, is going to happen there, beyond the -- nine? -- days of seige?"

[Brian]

"The draughts will provide much-needed healing after an attack from the Dreadmarch," she says, frowning.  "Their power has been concentrated over the years since the last siege, for just this purpose.

"We will have to destroy the thirteen generals of the Dreadmarch to lift the siege ... and should we fail, then the Dreadmarch will break our best defensive line, and drive south into the heartlands.

"Beyond that ... I do not know yet.  Liandral ... he was there, at the last.  He should remember it, I think."

[Bjorn]

Bjorn grunts thoughtfully.  "Straightforward enough, if easier said than done."  He looks sidelong at the Lady.  "Are there any other complications that you know of?"  He grimaces.  "Or anything else I should know, beyond 'everything'?"

[Brian]

"I don't know of anything that would help you immediately," she says.  "Your friends would do well with a lesson from Liandral, if it could be extracted more easily ... but he is already suspicious, and his kind's trust is hard earned.

"What I can tell you, however, is that you must be careful of how you adress others.  In any battle, you are superior to any footsoldier, following only the orders of a commander.  Outside of battle, you should call everyone as a superior.  I would be 'madame', not 'M'lady', as I was born of a duchess, not a queen.

"Most people will be 'Master' or 'Mistress', the aristocracy being 'Sir' and 'Madame', and those who you follow the orders of being 'Lord' and 'Lady'.  There's more ... but that would be all you will need to know.

"You truly have no memory of any of memories of this world's Bjorn?  Oh, yes.  Ah ... you should not speak of the ... relationship ... I held with ... who you were before."

[Bjorn]

Bjorn nods, absorbing that.  "'Those whose orders I obey'... that would be the clergy?  Should I call you Lady or Madame, then?"

He snorts, slightly.  "And I'm afraid I remember nothing.  Perhaps I might, later on, but I doubt it for now.  As for the other..."  he grins, slightly, with a hint of a blush.  "Wouldn't dream of talking about it."