- Eivor: Are you hiding something, Basim?
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Puppets and Prisoners
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Puppets and Prisoners 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[edit | edit source]
Eivor traveled to Folcanstan to meet with Cynebert and Basim.
Dialogue[edit | edit source]
Eivor arrived in Folcanstan and heard Basim and Cynebert talking near the town's docks.
- Cynebert: O, you must try my ale sometime! You must! My abbey brews the best in Cent.
- Basim: It certainly sounds worth the risk of my immortal soul.
- Cynebert: Ah, your God is rather a hard taskmaster?
- Basim: And your God forbids the mixing of wool and linen. It sounds to me like he's never heard of England.
- Cynebert: Not all that is written in the scriptures is God's honest truth.
Eivor also overheard two men talking as well.
- Anglo-Saxon Man 1: I do a roaring trade at Reculver and Tunbridge. They pay well for my catch.
- Anglo-Saxon Man 2: The monks? Do those parchment-skinned Christians ever eat meat?
- Anglo-Saxon Man 1: Don't you believe in Jesus? They refrain because he died for our sins.
- Anglo-Saxon Man 2: No one will stop me sucking the marrow of a nice leg of lamb. Not even God's seed.
- Anglo-Saxon Man 1: Well, I hope eternal damnation is worth it.
She also overheard two women talking about the abbot.
- Anglo-Saxon Woman 1: It's rare to see Abbot Cynebert down this way.
- Anglo-Saxon Woman 2: Abbot who?
- Anglo-Saxon Woman 1: You know, the rich one, the monastery that brews ale. He keeps half the menfolk in the county from their wives.
- Anglo-Saxon Woman 2: Ending up with an ale-soused wastrel is another reason I've not taken a husband.
- Anglo-Saxon Woman 1: If you're waiting for a sober one, you'll die an old maid.
Eivor went and talked with Basim and the abbot.
- Basim: Eivor? You have news?
- Eivor: Cent's new ealdorman will be Thegn Tedmund.
- Cynebert: Tedmund! O, the Lord is testing me. He is made mouse by you Danes! Barely leaves his fortress at Rouecistre. How might I gain his influence if he will not speak to me? Or to anyone! 'Tis a puzzle.
- Eivor: To inspire loyalty, Tedmund must owe you something. Such as... his life?
- Cynebert: Go on...
- Eivor: A fortress stormed, a man kidnapped. If you beat back his enemy, saved him from sure death, his gratitude would be...
- Cynebert: Swell? It would know no bounds. But that fortress will be harder to pry open than a nun's knees.
- Basim: Perhaps, perhaps not.
- Eivor: Has he any family we could hold for ransom? You could swoop in, rescue them, play the hero.
- Cynebert: There's nobody in this world that Tedmund cares more for than Tedmund. I could think on it, but we haven't much time.
- Basim: There's another way. Much easier...
- Eivor: Are you hiding something, Basim?
- Eivor: We can take him from Rouecistre Fortress. We'll need a small, experienced force of men.
- Cynebert: Rouecistre is not a house of straw and sticks! It is a garrison, crawling with soldiers. I don't see how it's possible.
- Basim: I don't believe it's necessary...
- Eivor: Are you hiding something, Basim?
- Basim: There is a lumber mill nearby, correct?
- Cynebert: Beamasfield. Aelfred invests much in fortifying Wessex, and uses our forest to do so. The mill provides his wood.
- Basim: Tedmund is there.
- Cynebert: Impossible! How do you know?
- Basim: I heard rumors that Tedmund had been lured out of self-exile. To manage work on the fortifications on Canterbury.
- Eivor: Taking him from a lumberyard is less dangerous than assaulting a fortress. But your rescue attempt will not have the same flair. Is it worth it?
- Cynebert: It may still work. Yes, yes, bring him to the Megaliths.
- Eivor: And Fulke?
- Cynebert: When I have Tedmund's fealty, you shall have Fulke. Now go, I will rustle up a small rescue party.
Basim and Eivor left as Cynebert gathered his forces. Basim and Eivor began to ride horses to Beamasfield.
- Eivor: I'm wary of this abbot, Basim. He is self-serving and evasive. Can he really deliver Fulke?
- Basim: The abbot is a friend of Fulke's, that is clear.
- Eivor: So long as he doesn't suspect our motive, we may have a chance.
- Basim: Indeed. This brings to mind a story, perhaps you've heard of it? The scorpion and the frog.
- Eivor: A children's story?
- Basim: A cautionary tale. The scorpion wants to cross the river, but he cannot swim. So he enlists the help of the frog. The frog agrees to carry him on his back, extracting a promise that the scorpion will not sting him.
- Eivor: Let me guess, the scorpion reneges, blaming his nature, and both drown?
- Basim: The scorpion crosses the river and stings an innocent man, killing him. So, what does this tale tell us?
- Eivor: That your stories are clouded and their meaning doubly so?
- Basim: It shows that every tale has a thousand possible outcomes, many of which are surprising. If the abbot does not deliver Fulke, he will die at my hand, and we will continue our search.
- Eivor: A sobering approach.
Both Basim and Eivor arrived near the lumber mill.
- Basim: Beamasfield is just ahead. Lead, I will follow.
Basim dismounted his horse and joined Eivor for the final approach to Beamasfield.
- Eivor: I hope this chase will catch us a plump hen.
- Basim: Once the abbot has Tedmund's gratitude, he will deliver Fulke. It will cost us nothing more than this.
- Eivor: If that leaden-wit keeps his word.
Basim and Eivor entered the lumber mill and looked for Tedmund. Eivor pulled up her hood as she entered the distrusting grounds of the lumber mill.
- Basim: Ah, you prefer to work in the shadows.
Eivor and Basim sneaked around while eavesdropping on soldiers.
- Anglo-Saxon Man 3: One more time, I'm telling you. If he says my boots are dirty or my hair needs combing. I will split him open.
- Anglo-Saxon Man 4: You're full of swamp gas. You'll do what you always do, bow and scrape to our good Thegn Tedmund.
- Anglo-Saxon Man 3: I'm not even sure it's him we're working for.
- Anglo-Saxon Man 4: Don't be daft. Who else would it be? A changeling spirited there by fairy-folk? Get back to patrol.
Eivor and Basim located Tedmund, who was barking orders at his guards.
- Tedmund: Get back to work. Time is coin, and you're spending mine! Do you dare question the orders of the great Thegn Tedmund? I will have you flogged! I could throw a stone and hit a dozen men who'd do a better job than this! We have a quota to fill, we must keep the Danes from Cent!
Tedmund noticed Eivor and Basim.
- Eivor: Danes? No, no! Protect me.
Eivor and Basim fought off any guards that came to Tedmund's aid, before Eivor tied him up.
- Tedmund: I'm not who you think I am! Let me go!
- Eivor: Stop caterwauling and you will live!
- Tedmund: Live? O Saints protect me!
- Eivor: Silence will save you, Tedmund! Silence, not your saints.
- Tedmund: (whimpers)
Eivor carried a captured Tedmund.
- Basim: Flee, my friend. We have the man we came for. Does this venture not set your blood ablaze?
- Eivor: You don't prefer working in the shadows?
- Basim: And so we have. To steal a man, take him with swiftness, and escape without anyone on our heels. We hide in plain sight, such is our way. But only until the moment of success. The final strike.
- Eivor: I prefer to act and speak plainly. Kings and lords who do not are often misunderstood.
- Basim: Yet, as a leader yourself, you cannot deny that subtlety and intrigue are a cloak you must wear. How many of your clan know the true circumstances of Sigurd's absence?
- Eivor: Mmm.
- Basim: You see my point. A leader must know when to speak and when to stay silent, for silence is not always a lie.
- Eivor: It can feel like one. You truly embrace the concept of hiding in plain sight, eh? To its very fullest.
- Basim: As I do in everything.
Eivor and Basim arrived at their destination with a captured Tedmund. Cynebert arrived his group of guards.
- Cynebert: Halt Danes! In the name of Aelfred, King of Wessex, I demand you release his royal subject into my care!
Basim held a knife to Tedmund's throat.
- Basim: Come no closer, Christian! Else your man dies by my blade!
- Tedmund: Please! I'm not the man you want.
- Eivor: Keep your eye on this one. He'll be worth a hefty bounty.
Eivor and Cynebert went to discuss further.
- Basim: Any false moves and I will snip your heels.
- Eivor: We have your man. Now let's finish this shadow play and be gone.
- Cynebert: Are you sure that's Tedmund? He's dressed as a lord, but that man is shorter and fatter than I recall.
- Tedmund: I'm not Tedmund! I'm not! I swear upon the holy rood, I am not Thegn Tedmund!
- Cynebert: What in Heaven's name is happening here?
- Eivor: Who are you? Speak quickly, or I will slit your throat and leave you for the crows.
- Shergar: Shergar! I am called Shergar! Lord Tedmund pays me a measly coin to serve as his double!
- Eivor: Brother Shergar? You are far from Augustine's priory!
- Cynebert: I left the cloisters many moons ago, Your Holiness. The monastic life was not my calling.
- Eivor: We can use you yet, Shergar. Summon Tedmund to a meeting. Get him out in the open.
- Shergar: Tedmund has no care for me or what I have to say. My orders come from letter, never by mouth. I hardly know the man.
- Eivor: You're of no use to us then. Perhaps I should just kill you, here and now.
- Eivor: Rouecistre is our only path forward, whether by stealth or force. Shergar, has the fortress any weaknesses? Any breaches or water wells we might use?
- Shergar: I ... I couldn't say. I've only been there once. But Tedmund has holed himself in its keep, and that's all but impregnable.
- Eivor: You're of no use to us then. Perhaps I should just kill you, here and now.
- Eivor: You're of no use to us then. Perhaps I should just kill you, here and now.
- Shergar: No! Wait, wait. Let me think. Let me think! Ah! Danes! To storm the walls, you need Danes! There's a raiding camp west of here I was told to be wary of. Acting as Tedmund, I ordered a band of soldiers to capture them. If you hurry, you may be able to stop this.
- Eivor: If another band of Danes wants to join our assault, we'll have the distraction we need to get inside Rouecistre.
- Basim: If the Saxons don't slaughter them first.
- Shergar: I am still Tedmund to the men in the field. I could speak with their captain, send his men away.
- Basim: It's a fearless plan.
- Eivor: The Nornir knit winding paths that cannot be unknotted. It seems Rouecistre was always in our path. Abbot, stay alert. We will send word when we are ready to capture Tedmund.
- Cynebert: And this fool? He knows much of our plan.
- Eivor: He'll come with us. And if he betrays me, I will roast his balls over a roaring fire.
- Shergar: You will not regret this! My wily ways and quick wit will cease the need for bloodshed.
- Basim: I still might kill you yet, man, if your prattling doesn't cease.
Shergar led the way for Eivor and Basim.
- Shergar: The rewards for being Tedmund are rapidly diminishing.
- Basim: And how does one become a double? Are there vigorous challenges and tests to overcome?
- Shergar: I was born with the misfortune of looking like someone else. I should have stayed on God's chosen path.
- Eivor: What took you from it?
- Shergar: I am the seventh son of a poor farmer. And not wanting another mouth to feed, my father gave me to the monks.
- Basim: The cloistered life did not suit you?
- Shergar: I thought there would be great comfort in repetition. But instead, I found nothing but prayer and backbreaking toil.
- Eivor: The Norns weave strange destinies. Now your life depends on the story you weave for yourself.
- Shergar: I am not a good forgery. Stilted, leaden, my hands sweat, and I have a stutter when I am nervous. But I will try.
Basim responded with dry sarcasm.
- Basim: Ah, the cornerstone of all great art.
- Shergar: The captain does not know Tedmund well. If we keep our heads, he will not question my orders. I hope.
- Eivor: Do what you want with him. I won't risk our plan on the shambling of this fool.
- Cynebert: Come, Brother Shergar, and perhaps today would be the time to consider a vow of silence?
- Eivor: An army of Danes are all we need to take the fortress.
- Basim: Let us hope.
- Basim: It is best to snare a wasp with honey. Have you ever considered more subtlety?
- Eivor: I leave manipulation to you, Basim. You appear to see it as an art.
- Basim: It is both art and science to bend a man to your will. And harder still to convince them that they are firmly in control.
- Eivor: Shergar was quick to betray his lord. Do you not think he would sell us out as swiftly?
- Basim: Perhaps. Perhaps not. I do not presume to know a man's heart in so brief a meeting.
- Eivor: His prattle was sad and ugly. Like a weeping babe.
- Basim: You have little patience for chittering squirrels.
- Eivor: And yet I allow you to squeak in my ear. Along all the roads and byways of Cent.
- Basim: Because you are wise, and you see the same qualities in me.
- Eivor: That must be it.
- Eivor: We are nearing the camp. Let us hope there are Danes enough to storm a fortress. Otherwise, this abbot's game is a long one.
- Basim: It must be played if we are to reclaim Sigurd.
The camp came into view, along with the sight of several Norse warriors already slain.
- Basim: We are too late. There is great horror here.
- Eivor: Those who remain must be saved. Whatever the cost.
- Shergar: Let us approach the captain with caution. He drinks too much and does not need a reason to kill us.
They all approached the camp's captain.
- Shergar: Yes, it is I, Thegn Tedmund. Coming to discuss the orders I gave you not one day ago.
Basim muttered incredulously to Eivor.
- Basim: This ham hock will get us all killed.
Eivor and Basim strolled into the campgrounds behind Shergar and heard one of the surviving warriors yelling at the soldiers.
- Norse Warrior: Oi, let us free, you festering canker on a sow's arse!
You murdered our people! Men, women, children!
Your sister rides your piss-soaked rod. - Anglo-Saxon Man 5: Pipe down you dogs. You're slaves of Cent now.
Shergar, acting as Tedmund, talked to the captain.
- Anglo-Saxon Soldier 1: Thegn Tedmund? What are you doing here?
- Shergar: How dare you address me in such a defiant manner! Don't you know who I am?
- Anglo-Saxon Soldier 1: You are Tedmund, as I said. And I mean no disrespect, lord... but I was told you were back in Rouecistre.
- Shergar: O yes? And do I, um... do I look like I'm in Rouecistre?
- Anglo-Saxon Soldier 1: You... do not, sir.
- Basim: A wise man is always unexpected.
- Anglo-Saxon Soldier 1: You travel in strange company, lord. An Arab and... a Dane?
- Eivor: I'm here to advise your thegn in the ways of my people.
- Shergar: That is correct! A cultural exchange of sorts... perhaps one day I will visit... your... um... Dane... Dane-land.
- Eivor: Norway.
Eivor looked to the captain.
- Eivor: You mistake me for a foreigner, but are we not all just the measure of the places we have seen?
- Anglo-Saxon Soldier 1: Right, well... that aside, have you any further orders, lord?
- Shergar: Yes, yes, I order... I order you... to stop loitering and return to your barracks, you scab-wit.
- Anglo-Saxon Soldier: And what of the captured Danes?
- Shergar: You must kill them all! Every last− Sorry, no. Leave them here. Tied up. As a... a feast for wolves and crows. That is all. You may depart. Shoo.
The captain left.
- Eivor: A convincing ruse that has earned you your freedom. Go. And make your life anew, not in another man's boots.
- Shergar: I will. This small sup of power has got me thinking, perhaps I can be a leader of men?
The captain, the guards, and Shergar started to leave together.
- Shergar: Yes, yes. Hurry along, men. Warm thighs and ale awaits!
- Anglo-Saxon Soldier 1: Come on, you laggards! You have Tedmund's orders.
- Eivor: You mistake me for a foreigner, but are we not all just the measure of the places we have seen?
- Anglo-Saxon Soldier 1: Right, well... that aside, have you any further orders, lord?
- Shergar: Yes, yes, I order... I order you... to stop loitering and return to your barracks, you scab-wit.
- Anglo-Saxon Soldier: And what of the captured Danes?
- Shergar: You must kill them all! Every last− Sorry, no. Leave them here. Tied up. As a... a feast for wolves and crows. That is all. You may depart. Shoo.
- Eivor: A convincing ruse that has earned you your freedom. Go. And make your life anew, not in another man's boots.
- Shergar: I will. This small sup of power has got me thinking, perhaps I can be a leader of men?
- Shergar: Yes, yes. Hurry along, men. Warm thighs and ale awaits!
- Anglo-Saxon Soldier 1: Come on, you laggards! You have Tedmund's orders.
- Eivor: To Hel with this talk. Let Saxon blood soak this land!
- Eivor: God speed, Danes. This is too rich for my blood.
Eivor and Basim crept into the campgrounds and heard one of the surviving warriors yelling at the soldiers.
- Norse Warrior: Oi, let us free, you festering canker on a sow's arse!
You murdered our people! Men, women, children!
Your sister rides your piss-soaked rod. - Anglo-Saxon Man 5: Pipe down you dogs. You're slaves of Cent now.
- Norse Warrior: You will not see another sunrise, swine balls!
However the guards were dealt with, the camp was secured.
- Eivor: Tied up like animals. I need to free them.
Eivor and Basim freed the Norse warriors.
- Norse Warrior: We owe you our lives, friend. These Saxon whoresons would have killed us all.
- Eivor: Yes, they would have. And now's your chance to hit back. March with us on Rouecistre and drain it of riches.
- Norse Warrior: I would gladly, friend. But we few will not break those iron-thick walls.
- Basim: And we have no allies in Wessex, none who could be called upon to attack their countrymen.
- Eivor: Mercia will heed the call. Geadric will provide our vikingr hoard. We'll send a message to Oxenefordscire. The men of Mercia would gladly take a swipe at Wessex. What is your name, warrior?
- Runa: Runa Egilsdottir.
- Eivor: We need ships, Runa.
- Runa: We have a small fleet moored upriver. But a naval chain blocks passage to Rouecistre's walls.
- Eivor: I will remove it, and your people will bring their ships. Now, gather these fallen weapons and armor. Geadric and the men of Oxenefordscire will need them to hide their Mercian origins.
- Runa: My warriors were denied Valhalla today. I cannot bear the idea of gifting their weapons to more Saxons.
- Basim: Their sacrifice was great... their gift will be all the greater.
- Eivor: And they will know justice with our victory. It will calm their restless shades. I promise. Will your men bring the armor to the battle?
Runa nodded yes.
- Basim: And what is our plan?
- Eivor: In the morning, you will go to Buckingham, remind Geadric of his promise. When you have his bond, meet me on the shore near Rouecistre, with his ships.
- Basim: Abbot Cynebert must be warned in advance. He'll need time to muster his rescue party.
- Eivor: Runa, that is your task. I'll tell you where to meet him before you leave.
- Basim: All seems in order. At first new light, I will leave.
- Eivor: Good. That gives us time to drink.
Night came as Basim and Eivor sat near a campfire. Eivor set down her axe while Basim stoked the fire.
- Eivor: You've traveled so far to carry out your duty. Is this the life of a Hidden One? Always on the move?
Eivor took a drink from a bottle and set it aside before taking hold of her axe to sharpen it.
- Basim: Mine is not the usual path. The creed does travel. Our ideals are universal, we believe that.
- Eivor: So there's nowhere you call home?
- Basim: No place I call home. No.
- Eivor: Weird.
- Basim: For me, home is family. But I have no family.
- Eivor: No one? Not even Hytham?
- Basim: Parents, brothers, all dead.
- Eivor: I lost my parents when I was nine winters along. Without Sigurd, I would've... I would've.
Eivor stared distantly into the fire, contemplating her fate had Sigurd not saved her.
- Basim: There is always one unbreakable bond.
- Eivor: Yes.
- Basim: Children, they bewilder you. They can cause you so much worry, fill you with joy. Even stop your heart. And if you're lucky, they replace you.
Basim poked at the fire with a stick then watched the embers fly into the air before poking the fire again.
- Basim: I was not so lucky. I had a son. I miss him terribly. Even now.
- Eivor: I'm sorry, Basim.
- Basim: He was taken from me. By someone I trusted. A friend, a mentor. A man who I would trust with anything. But a man you trust with anything... can take everything.
Basim stabbed angrily at the fire.
- Basim: He took all I had.
He composed himself and flashed a melancholy smile to Eivor.
- Basim: All I had.
Night passed and morning came.
- Eivor: Rouecistre will not be an easy nut to crack. Time to prepare.
Outcome[edit | edit source]
After wrongly capturing Shergar, a double of their target Tedmund, Basim and Eivor freed a group of Danes, including Runa, to help storm Rouecistre Fortress.
Behind the scenes[edit | edit source]
As was the case with The Abbot's Gambit, several of the ambient conversations do not have fixed trigger points or specifically-defined NPCs, or even locations, where these dialogues will fire. The only requirement is that two qualified "Anglo-Saxon Man/Woman/Soldier" NPCs are in close enough proximity to each other, which may result in farmers or fishermen triggering the dialogues initially intended for soldiers, and vice versa. NPCs that are programmed to follow some walking route may end up walking out of range to hear the conversations, thus cutting them off completely. Repeated fast travel away from settled areas like Folcanstan, or saving and reloading, will allow the NPCs to reset somewhat and make it easier to trigger all dialogues until they are completely exhausted.
During the initial trip into Beamasfield, Basim may not pull up his hood even if Eivor does. This may cause soldiers to attack him on sight, even while Eivor hides in tall grass, as most Saxon soldiers (as well as the local Zealot) are programmed to treat all instances of Basim's actor without his hood as hostile. Fast traveling away from Beamasfield after the initial horse ride to the lumber mill, then returning (or simply saving and reloading), may cause him to properly use his hood. While this part of the memory is active, the "distrust area" condition appears to apply globally, meaning all soldiers will attack a hoodless Eivor on sight if she fast travels to a different area with soldiers present, and NPCs will raise their arms in wariness of her.
Although Runa has three different insults she can hurl at the guards, she will only be able to issue one at random before the guard cuts her off and tells her to "pipe down." With Shergar present at the camp, if players choose to attack the guards or release a prisoner before talking to the captain, it will have the same effect as using the Fight dialogue option, including Shergar running off in terror.
Gallery[edit | edit source]
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Tedmund patrolling with his guards -
The Dane camp -
Eivor and Basim staying at the camp at night -
Basim revealing the deaths of his son
