Majesty in the Dark

Majesty in the Dark was a virtual representation of one of Eivor Varinsdottir's genetic memories, relived by Layla Hassan in 2020 through the Portable Animus HR-8.5.

Description

Eivor searched for Bishop Engelwin's quarters in the chambers of Sainte-Geneviève Church.

Dialogue

After killing Engelwin, Eivor exited through the upper door through which she entered the sanctum, musing on what she learned.

• Eivor: That bishop's mind was afflicted by a strangeness I do not understand. He held a crest, and a key. I should look around for what it unlocks.

If Eivor took her time to search for more valuables, two guards eventually entered the sanctum.

• French Soldier 1: It's been too long. We should check.
• Eivor: I need to be quick. The guards will find the body soon.

The guards looked around the sanctum and eventually found Engelwin's corpse.

• French Soldier 2: Merde! (Shit!) The bishop is slain! Find the intruder! Don't let them escape!
• Eivor: I need to go!

Eivor climbed back upstairs and investigated a locked room across from the sanctum entrance. She took stock of the amassed fortune in Engelwin's office.

• Eivor: This is a lot of wealth. Engelwin would make a good raider.

Eivor saw and collected a scythe on the wall, called the Scythe of Revolt.

• Eivor: Now this is new.

Looking around, Eivor found scrolls on a desk.

• Eivor: Journals. He seemed at war with his own thoughts.

Eivor soon found and read a letter on a bookshelf.

• Eivor: This letter is addressed to Charles, and tells on the attack of Melun. It was to be sent this night to a brothel in the tavern. The king must be there now!

Eivor found a symbol on a banner near an open book, a gold cross on a purple background much like the robe she acquired in the church.

• Eivor: This is a strange symbol. It must have some meaning.

On another desk, Eivor found an incomplete letter.

Half-Written Letter

Isidorus,

I am unhappy to report that despite my most careful subtlety, the king remains resistant. The blame for this can be placed entirely on the queen. Her presence alone is enough to end any conversation. What little headway we make is undone as soon as he consults with her. Charles is altogether too weak minded to move beyond her influence without our intervention.

I believe our only recourse is to remove her. The king will then be laid open to our counsel. It will not be an easy task, but not more difficult than our recent success. A queen is not greater than a pontif.

I have taken the liberty of sending a small scara of our most faithful brothers to intercept the-

Eivor speaking to the tavernkeeper

With all of the information from Engelwin's study in hand, Eivor escaped Sainte-Geneviève Church and traveled back to the Boatmen Baths Tavern to speak with the tavernkeep.

• Eivor: Tavernkeep! I'm looking for some... company.
• French Woman 1: Northerner! A strapping youth like you has appetites of equal measure I'm sure, and any other time I'd be happy to help.
• Eivor: Why not now?
• French Woman 1: It's locked off. A special visitor, you understand. You'll have to try your luck with the amateurs here.

Who is the special visitor?(13 silver) Would this coin help?Leave

• Eivor: Is any visitor really so important that you would refuse honest custom?
• French Woman 1: That's a reasonable question, one which I can't answer for the sake of my head. Which is an answer of sorts, if you think on it.
• Eivor: I would really like to change your mind.
• French Woman 1: If your... need is that great, you can try talking to the door guard. He's at the bottom of the stairs.

• Eivor: Perhaps silver will help?
• French Woman 1: You know, it just might. You're not going to get in the front door, but as with most things in Paris, there's another way.
• Eivor: Go on.
• French Woman 1: That big tree outside the front door might be worth your attention. You didn't hear anything from me, though.

• Eivor: My thanks.

Eivor left the barkeep to find her way inside the hidden brothel.

Eivor used the front doorEivor used the hidden entrance

Eivor went downstairs and saw the locked door on the left.

• Eivor: That door is reinforced.

Eivor talked with the guard there.

• French Soldier 3: Who are you?
• Eivor: Bishop Engelwin sent me with word for the king.
• French Soldier 3: Did he now? And did he happen to send you with the watchword?

(Level 2 Charisma) The message is urgentI want companyNo-one mentioned a watch-word

• Eivor: I have an urgent message for the king. If he does not receive it, I will be sure to tell the bishop why, and who.
• French Soldier 3: You are one of his Northern spies, I suppose. I heard there was trouble. Alright, stand back.

The guard opened the door.

• Eivor: I only want to visit your establishment, and see if Frankish women are as beguiling as I have been told.
• French Soldier 3: Keep your pants on, Northerner. I told you, no one gets in tonight without the watchword.

(returns to choices)

• Eivor: The bishop gave no watchword, there was no time.
• French Soldier 3: You think I'm stupid as a pig's ass, don't you? Get lost. Next time, I'll break your head for you!

The soldier dismissed her, leaving her to her thoughts.

• Eivor: There must be another way inside.

Eivor may have returned to speak with the soldier again.

• French Soldier 3: I told you to leave!

(repeats choices)

Eivor sought the big tree in front of the tavern and found a boarded up pit concealing Roman sewers. Eivor broke the boards and climbed down some wooden beams to the bottom, and slid under a small opening.

• Eivor: A hidden entrance. Where does it lead?

She found herself inside the brothel's larder.

Regardless of her methods, Eivor successfully infiltrated the brothel.

• Eivor: Now to find the king.

Eivor looked around and found a note on top of a barrel.

Discretion and Our Guests

Ladies,

Business has picked up with the threat of Northern raiders just outside the city. We've been busy, but that's no reason to start calling our guests by their true names. They demand discretion, and it's your job to give it them. Regular guests have given us the names they prefer to be called, and they're writ down here. Keep them in your memory.

Bastien
Fantome P
Adalbert
Goll
Bal
Ebels
Furderic

There's one name missing from this list and you all know who that is. Him you are to call by the name "Liutward", except when in chambers. Then you call him by his real name, and you answer only to "Richardis".

− Germain

Eivor looked around the brothel and heard voices behind a door.

• Charles: Yes, my holy queen. You are sinner and saint. My confessor and my lover. How I admire and desire you.

Eivor entered in the room. Charles lay in bed in the company of a few women, while the room was filled with dead chickens and a live pig. On the bed, Charles was being comforted by a woman as he noticed Eivor at the door.

Charles meeting Eivor for the first time

• Charles: Are you real? What are you, another diable (devil)?
• Eivor: Not an enemy, not yet. I am Eivor, of the Raven Clan in England.
• Charles: Flesh and blood. A Northerner by the look of you. Why do you disturb me? Where are my guards?
• Eivor: Your guards are not coming. Your bishop will not be joining us either.

Eivor threw Engelwin's crest at Charles' bed.

• Charles: Engelwin? You've done me a favor, Northerner, though you don't know it. That bishop was an unholy annoyance. What is it you want?
• Eivor: Your soldiers strike at Norse villages. Their attacks grow more common by the day. You make war against us, without cause.
• Charles: Without cause! This is my land, a kingdom established by God! You are invaders and devils, a scourge I am called to cleanse. My cause is God himself!

I am not concerned with FranciaFrancia belongs to the strongestWar can be avoided

• Eivor: Francia may be your land, but England is not.
• Charles: Ah, the real reason for your intrusion, diable (devil). You are not concerned with war or justice. You want me to spare your people.
• Eivor: I want to prevent your armies marching on my land.

• Eivor: You claim your cause in the name of your god. We claim it by our own strength. Either way, those claims end in this land.
• Charles: I begin to understand you, diable (devil). You don't care for Francia. You want clemency for England and for yourself.
• Eivor: I want you to stay in your own land.

• Eivor: War is uncertain, and dangerous. Often it begins in one place, only to end unfavorably in another.
• Charles: War is war. But you mean England. O yes, I understand you, diable (devil). You came to plead for your own neck.
• Eivor: I came to make an agreement to save many necks, perhaps even your own.

• Charles: You murder your way into another land, and you think to stop me driving you back out with negotiation? I am a king. You are a godless invader. Who are you to parley with me?
• Eivor: I am one who might have killed you already, yet you live.

A quick pause as King Charles talked to himself.

• Charles: Perhaps this is opportune. What do you think? Could it work? It might work. There is something I require. If you accomplish it, I will be more open to consider your... proposal.
• Eivor: A deal within a deal. How like a king. What is the task?
• Charles: My queen, Richardis, has been taken. I want her returned to me.
• Eivor: I assume I must first find her.
• Charles: My spies tell me she was taken by those belonging to a zealous faction within the Church. I know nothing more.
• Eivor: You do not seem overly troubled by her absence.
• Charles: Marriage for kings is more often a matter of politics than of the heart. In any case, I doubt she is in danger. And you can be certain I want her safe return.
• Eivor: If I do this, you will agree to leave England in peace.
• Charles: Peace! That is a strange word in the mouth of an invader. But again you presume too much. Do this and you will have earned a place at the negotiation table, nothing more.
• Eivor: When we next meet, it will be with your queen to discuss your ambitions for England.
• Charles: As you say, diable (devil). God will make it so. Now, you must excuse me...

Eivor left Charles with his hired women.

Eivor exited Paris and traveled back to Melun to meet with Toka. As she neared the longhouse, Eivor heard a small conversation.

• Norse Man 1: It is not right. They dishonored our brothers.
• Norse Woman 1: Sigfred will make sure the Franks answer for it.

Eivor returning with news for both Sigfred and Toka

Eivor entered the longhouse and met with both Sigfred and Toka.

• Sigfred: Wolf-Kissed. You were gone overlong. We'd had trouble.
• Eivor: Engelwin is dead, though there is a sickness in these Franks I do not understand.
• Sigfred: That is very good. It is as I told you. You see now why it is pointless to try to deal with them?
• Eivor: Yet I must. Information with him led me to their king. Charles and I have reached the beginnings of an agreement.
• Sigfred: You met with their king! Do you make yourself my enemy now? Toka failed to bring me any but you, and now you defy me!

I'm on your sideI'm here for my clanWhat was the trouble?

• Eivor: I had to act or miss the opportunity. I did not mean to defy you.
• Sigfred: Yet you have, and while you did we were attacked and took losses you might have helped prevent.

• Eivor: I told you what I came here to do. You're not my jarl, Sigfred. I do not need your permission to act.
• Sigfred: Be careful how you speak, Wolf-Kissed. This is my clan. While you were away making agreements, we were attacked.

• Eivor: You said there was trouble.
• Sigfred: There was another attack, and we found our missing watch. Curse those raven-starvers. I will gut every one of them! You might have helped prevent this.

• Eivor: Why? What has happened?

Sigfred directing Toka to take Eivor with her

• Sigfred: You will see what it is you are eager to make peace with. Toka will show you. I have our revenge to plan.

Eivor left with Toka.

• Toka: Come with me, Wolf-Kissed. You remember our missing watch? While you and Sigfred went after Engelwin, I searched for them. But they were gone. After this second attack, we found them.
• Eivor: What do you mean? Where were they?
• Toka: Come and see.

Eivor with Toka in the morgue

They arrived at the morgue, where Pierre stood over mangled remains.

• Eivor: These wounds were not made by sword, or by animals.
• Toka: It is the Franks. You said yourself, there is a sickness in them. There is no honor in what they do. These were my friends!
• Pierre: I have seen this before. People disappear sometimes. When they return, they are like this.
• Eivor: Toka, I need your help. Charles asked me to find his queen. If I can, I might stop this sickness reaching England.

Pierre giving the queen's location to Eivor

• Pierre: The queen was at Evreux yesterday, in the company of priests. You will find her there.

Eivor and Toka looked at each other, surprised at Pierre's degree of information. An awkward silence filled the morgue as Pierre registered their incredulity.

• Pierre: You think all I do is drink wine and bed handsome men and beautiful women? Merde! (Shit!) I have eyes all over Francia, and they see many things. Some of those things I must attend to, now.

Before he left, Pierre addressed Eivor specifically.

Began the Rebel MissionsDid not begin the Rebel Missions

• Pierre: When you have the time, Eivor, come and see me. I have more work for you.

• Pierre: When you have the time, Eivor, come and see me. I have a proposal for you.

Pierre left the morgue.

• Toka: Sigfred is right, Wolf-Kissed. Even with this proof of the Franks' cowardice before you, you still want to bargain with them. I will not go against my uncle. I am sorry. I cannot help you in this.
• Eivor: You're right. Your duty is to your own clan, Toka. My duty is to mine. It is why I came to Francia. I will go to Evreux alone.
• Toka: When you are done in Evreux, meet us at our forward camp, west of Paris. We have a siege to prepare.

Eivor left as Toka stayed with the bodies.

• Eivor: To keep Charles' armies from England, I must find his queen. She was seen with priests at Evreux. That is where I must go.

Before she left, she found a note next to one of the bodies.

A Wife's Goodbye

O my love, what have they done to you? Why did we listen to them, those bitter little robed men and their poisoned words. They all still live, moving and breathing, while you lie here dead and abused, your beautiful back torn apart.

You should be supping with me now in our little hut, teasing me with that sweet naughty smirk that always played around your mouth. Not laying here cold and me utterly alone.

Farewell my poor, kind, wonderful husband. They stole both our lives today. I pray with all the faith I have left that God, in whose name they did this, visits them with swift and ruthless justice.

Outcome

Eivor located clues in Engelwin's chamber for the whereabouts of King Charles. After meeting him in a secret brothel beneath the Boatmen Baths Tavern, Eivor made a deal with Charles to locate his queen Richardis in exchange for a meeting to negotiate peace for her clan. She was given the Queen's location in Evreux by the Frankish informant, Pierre.

Behind the scenes

The two soldiers that discover Engelwin's body spawn into the sanctum only after crossing the threshold that ends the previous memory and begins this one. Initially, they may not discover Engelwin's body at all and thus the second set of lines does not trigger, but reloading the autosave will fix this.

Even if the player skips the tavern investigations in the previous memory, the tavernkeep will speak to Eivor with some familiarity in her tone as though Eivor went to the tavern anyway. Like the previous memory, it is possible to skip a lot of dialogue by simply breaching into the destination immediately—in the brothel's case using the secret entrance under the tree—but there is no change in the game dialogue, outcome of the memory, or progression of the main story that reflects this.

Gallery

• 
  Eivor entering the brothel beneath the tavern
• 
  King Charles
• 
  King Charles with the prostitutes by his side

References

• Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – The Siege of Paris