All they say is "trust in what is written"

[secondcity_npc]

Characters: NPCs and you!
Time: Various
Location: Various
Content: Questions and answers.
Format: Poster's choice
Warnings: n/a

Comments

[becauseimboring]

"Then now would be a good time to set the record straight, given part of me thinks these fabricated myths were done by your brotherhood," Clare wasn't going to be blamed for believing the only sources she had on hand. She didn't care how old and powerful this wizard was, how is it her fault they lied.

"Since you refer to the grail as holy, I'm going to figure the things up to the Arthurian aspect of the story have some ring of truth to them. A container used to catch Christ's blood after his death," Clare spoke up, looking for signs of more annoyance. "You guys pulled me into this, and Sir Galahad gave the token to me. So if there is some sort of key to unlocking the grail in the mythology, it would be nice if I knew it."

[the_postoffice]

Surprise flickered across his face, soon watered down by that same weary disposition that seemed to encompass him. "Exactly," he asked slowly, looking awfully tempted to pinch the bridge of his nose, "how long do you think my 'brotherhood' has been around? The stories you have encountered were created by none other than the White Council of wizards - sure, they have some truth to them but most of the myths are distant variations of the truth."

[becauseimboring]

"Even if it wasn't your brotherhood, the lies are for its benefit in some manner," Clare laced her fingers together behind her back as they walked, "This, a secret wizard council, the Knights and Arthurian legends, and finally the host of this darkness spreading across the worlds, all seems to begin with Merlin doesn't it? So even if your brotherhood wasn't behind the lies, Merlin's true dealings being misinterpreted by the masses like this works out for you and the others in the end."

"Which gets us back to the topic at hand. What's the real story for the Grail, and Merlin. His name caused all the knights to react. Percival and Bors became very tense, and Galahad became sad," Clare's eyes roamed the book spines behind her gold framed glasses, "The stories say the other two never received the grail, that Galahad was drawn to heaven with the grail. What really happened?"

[the_postoffice]

"Lies benefit no one - the White Council's false stories have done more harm than good." It sounded as if there was more to the story than just that, but he wasn't willing to disclose that information just yet. "'The greatest trick the devil ever played was convincing the world he didn't exist' - in this case, the White Council did that for her, and helped her more than hindered her."

He pressed his lips together in thin line. "The stories are fragmented - the letters from that time...they're as susceptible to age as any other time. But the reality of the matter is that there were darker forces at work than the stories would have you believe. The ending itself - well, that may be closer to the truth than anything: the knights scattered, their king dead, and the greatest wizard to ever live killed by someone he loved and trusted." He glanced over at Clare. "I'd think anyone would be sad by that ending."

[becauseimboring]

That did also make sense, Clare just assumed secret societies ran on secrets. Also mass publishing of her name would just give her all sorts of power... which the council already did. Unless they edited her out of the stories they didn't do any actual help. Clare felt kinda stupid jumping to what she thought was a reasonable conclusion.

Well, that was a long way of saying 'I only sorta know' which might as well be 'I don't know at all' in this case. The devil is in the detail as they say, vague statements and conjecture mean she has even less to work from. It was still sad that the ending was very much a downer, "I don't suppose you have more detail on the Grail. I mean it wasn't an original pillar right?"

[the_postoffice]

Houdini frowned. "The pillars aren't the items themselves, if that's what you're asking. I thought you all had obtained the map."

[becauseimboring]

"But the two are connected, are the objects keys to the pillars?" The map wasn't exactly lush with detail, just words in latin. "Keys based on something the objects evoke from people?"

[the_postoffice]

He nodded, turning down one of the aisles and heading towards a door near the back of the library. "Exactly. The ten pillars are stated outright, but according to Merlin's letters, the eleventh has to be found out." The tone of his voice told that he wasn't too pleased with having to go on a treasure hunt in order to save multiple universes. "Other than his letters, that map, and Jack's poem, we have nothing giving us a clue as to what the eleventh item is or represents."

[becauseimboring]

"Well..." Clare couldn't help but be curious, letters written by Merlin himself. Anyone would be interested in them, probably half the city would be curious. However, she's not so lost in her own desire that she forgets priorities, "I haven't seen the letters or the poem. But I suppose that's putting the cart before the horse, unless they have something about the Grail in them."

"I don't suppose you can clarify something for me," Clare didn't wait before asking, "Sir Galahad said that we had to prove ourselves as knights. But... proof of knighthood varies greatly by era and moral structure. Do you have any idea what would be the most likely meaning in this case?"

[the_postoffice]

"Jack's poem isn't hidden." Swinging open the door revealed a staircase, lit by a dim yellow bulb, descending upwards to who-knew-where. He held open the door for her but made no other gesture for her to enter. "It may not be his most popular work, but it's easily accessible. And yes, before you ask, it does mention Arthur so in that way, it is related to the Grail."

When the Knights and subsequent knighthood were brought up, his brows only furrowed, although it was hard to tell whether it was from annoyance or just sheer confusion. "In most cases, it usually takes a personal sacrifice of some sort. No, I don't know what that personal sacrifice is - it varies on the person, the era, and the goal."

[becauseimboring]

"Yes, but it isn't something I've known to look at before now," Clare rushed through the door figuring they weren't done yet. "I suppose that means the letters are hidden, and somewhere here?"

The mention of personal sacrifice had her worried. Since it wasn't exactly... definitive, she couldn't exactly make a move toward it without it being total guesswork. Basically it was a worthless piece of information... like everything else she had on the subject. "Great, thanks, very detailed."

[the_postoffice]

"Have you heard of Lewis's poem "Re-adjustment"? It's a map to find the eleventh pillar, but it really only makes sense if the other ten are gathered first."

Houdini closed the door behind him and then headed up the stairs quickly. "The letters were hidden, yes. Only members of the White Council of wizards could access their headquarters, and even then, the letters were in the Merlin's personal library. Not that he actually believed they meant anything important." He waved his hand, as if brushing off the words. "Either way, the letters were a set of correspondances between a number of people from the so-called Arthurian legend. Many of the letters didn't say anything out of the ordinary, but there were three that set everything in motion."

He stopped on the stairs when Clare sarcastically replied to his comment, and looked back at her, a dark look in his eyes. "Giving you an answer about that would require me to know why Galahad wouldn't outright give you the grail in the first place. And unless you want to go into a discussion about special relativity and quantum game theory, the only thing I can tell you is that he probably needed to hide it. You're making the mistake of thinking that the Galahad who gave you the grail is the same that is currently in this city."

[becauseimboring]

Clare listened about the poem and made a mental note to claim a copy before leaving the library. Even if it wasn't useful now... she's the most appropriate person to carry it given she had the token for the Grail. She'd have the tenth pillar first, and it wasn't like most of the others did research.

"You said were hidden, where are they now?" Clare had a theory that this little adventure might answer the question. Still, doesn't mean she shouldn't ask. Three letters that might help explain some things about what was going on. She had to look at them if she could.

"There should be at least some similarity, to get a general idea. You're not providing better avenues," Clare considered why not give them the Grail. There was a chance they didn't trust the citizens of Chicago, they didn't trust the trio of wizards... that, maybe. "If we got the Grail back in January, you would have immediately moved for the eleventh pillar, right? Months ago, and before you guys showed yourselves? Galahad, that Galahad, may have known and decided your plans were moving too quickly?"

[the_postoffice]

"Destroyed."

Reaching the top of the stairs, Houdini swung open a derelict-looking door that creaked on its hinges. He didn't reach for a switch or say any magical phrases - flickers of fire just spontaneously ignited in the room, bringing light to the smaller upper library room. It looked as if it were a private study - the walls were lined with bookshelves which in turn were nearly overflowing with books. A desk sat in the middle of the room, covered in more books and various pieces of papers, written in an almost legible scrawl.

Walking over to the table, Houdini said, "The Archive - the living source of human knowledge - didn't know about the letters, meaning that they were too dangerous to pen in the...well, I suppose you would call it the 'real world.'" Picking up a small paperback from the desk, he handed it to Clare, his face suddenly expressionless. "Jack's work. Between him and John, they managed to put more detail into this city than you might think."

He leaned against the desk, looking around at the bookshelves. "Like I said, the ten pillars together will resonate to find the eleventh, whatever it is." He frowned. "Was there anything else that he told you? Anything that struck you as odd?"

[becauseimboring]

Well, that went well. Especially since there is no secondary copy of the letters either... she would need to ask Ms. Murphy or Mr. Dresden about the Archive later. Given she was hoping her notations on everything were private because she'd been handwriting them in place of using technology. Still, she got another book, books were generally of value here, one way or another.

"Hmm, let me see," Clare pulled out her own book. A rather beaten notebook, filled with sticky notes, earmarked pages, and very elegant handwriting. Even what was obviously written quickly was written with a person skilled at taking completely legible script. She opened to one of the earlier pages, the first earmarked page to be exact, which is where she started keeping serious track of everything.

The page she wrote when she returned home from the grail mission.

"He mentioned something about facing our darkness to Sam, Rosette was told that such journeys couldn't be measured in conquests, but in the purity of heart..." Clare read through as she tried to remember things she paraphrased, and anything she missed. It was hard to be attentive directly after two knights of the round attack your allies. "He... he said it was impossible, before all of this. To give us the grail then. 'At this moment, it is impossible.'" Clare had finished reading over the words, nothing else her book could offer to help her remember that night in the Rockies, she closed her eyes. Her recall wasn't perfect, but she was very good at paying attention, and once the adrenaline stopped flooding her system she paid a lot of attention.

"Sir Galahad and Sir Bors talked about something, but it was mostly in actions, not words. About us completing what they could not. And if he was sure about giving me the pendant," Clare sighed, she didn't have much else to add. Opening her eyes, "Percival prayed after that exchange, and the sun rose for us to see where we were. Other than his telling us our story was very entwined in Merlin's that's all there was."

[the_postoffice]

Houdini sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose in what could only have been the gesture of fighting off a headache. "I can't believe that Arthur's greatest knight gave you a red herring."